Top Cabinet Official Resigns Over Domestic Abuse Report

The White House isn’t the only place where a past domestic abuse has led to a resignation.

Governor Mary Fallin was handed the resignation this week of Preston Doerflinger after a published report indicating he had choked his wife during a five in 2012.  Jill Doerflinger filed for divorce less than a year after the incident which involved calls to police, according to the story published by The Frontier.

Doerflinger not only resigned as Director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services but also his cabinet position as Secretary of Finance and Revenue.  He also resigned as interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Health.

The Frontier reported Doerflinger resigned his cabinet position in a phone call to the governor,

As head of the Oklahoma Management and Enterprise Services, it was Doerflinger who often reported on the monthly impact of energy revenues in relation to the state budget.

Here is how The Frontier reported the abuse that happened 5 years ago.

“On Monday, The Frontier reported that Doerflinger had been handcuffed by Tulsa Police in 2012 after allegedly choking his wife twice during an argument at their Tulsa home. Police, according to an incident report read to The Frontier, handcuffed Doerflinger for “detainment purposes” as his wife described the alleged incident.According to the report, Doerflinger’s wife (the couple has since divorced) exited their south Tulsa home “crying, sweating and thanking the officer for arriving” following a 911 call from the residence. According to the police report, Doerflinger’s wife called 911, but her husband took the phone and ended the call.

Doerflinger’s wife told police the two had been in an argument and that Doerflinger, who had just been named interim director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services, began to choke her.

She said, according to the report, she then broke free and called 911, but Doerflinger then took the phone away from her and ended the call. She told police Doerflinger then forced her into a laundry room and began again to choke her before officers arrived and she broke free and ran outside.

Officers at the scene reported taking a victim statement from Doerfinger’s wife, who later retracted the statement saying she didn’t want her husband to lose his job with DHS.

The report noted that officers were concerned with Doerflinger’s wife’s safety, and provided her with domestic violence pamphlets and information on how to file a protective order. Doerflinger was removed from handcuffs and then taken to a “hotel of his choice” for the night.