Audio of the 911 call placed by Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, has been released, shedding new light on the violent attack on the Republican carried out by his next-door neighbor Rene Boucher at his Kentucky home.
The audio, obtained and released by Kentucky CBS affiliate WLKY following a FOIA request, reveals a measured Paul explaining to 911 operators that he was “assaulted by a neighbor” and that he requested police presence to “investigate and talk to the neighbor.”
Paul can be heard saying on the call that the attack took place in his yard while he was mowing his grass. He told one operator that it was “not a life-or-death thing,” but he wanted an officer to come by his residence.
Paul told CBS’ “Face the Nation” earlier this month that he was in “living hell” in the weeks following a the attack by Boucher outside his home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, in November.
Paul told CBS that he’s getting a “little better each day.” The attack left Paul with six broken ribs, cuts on his face and fluid buildup in his chest.
“It was sort of, I guess, a living hell for the first four or five weeks. Couldn’t get out of bed without assistance, six broken ribs, damage to my lungs, two bouts of pneumonia. It was really a tough go of it. But each day I feel a little bit better. This last month I’ve been doing better,” Paul said.
The violent scuffle occurred Nov. 3 at Paul’s home while he was doing yard work. Boucher, allegedly tackled the senator from behind.
WLKY reports that Boucher has since been charged with assaulting a member of Congress as part of a federal plea agreement. Boucher’s attorney says his client may face jail time, but said that will be up to the judge.
Boucher already faced a misdemeanor assault charge in state court in Kentucky. He has pleaded not guilty to that charge, but Baker said he is “very regretful.”
Boucher’s attorney told CBS News in November that the attack was not politically motivated, but rather “a very regrettable dispute between two neighbors over a matter that most people would regard as trivial.”
Paul told the Washington Examiner that he had not spoken to Boucher for a decade before the attack and that he could not conceive of a motive, but that there would be a criminal prosecution. Since his recovery, Paul has said the focus should not be on the the motive of this specific incident, but instead on deterring future politically motivated attacks.
“My colleagues come up all the time, and they want to make sure that there is some kind of deterrent because people don’t want to think that it’s open season on our elected officials,” Paul said.
He added, “I think one of the things about motivations is people got obsessed, some in the media, about the motivations. But I think really we usually don’t ask if someone’s raped or mugged or whatever why the person did it. We want punishment and deterrents.”
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