Feds charge Wind River Reservation police officer with kidnapping

William Arthur Curran II forced his wife into the basement of their home and put handcuffs on her wrists and ankles, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming.

The complaint states Curran is a police officer for the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the Wind River Indian Reservation, and has been since July 2014.

Nedra Darling, public affairs director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, confirmed Curran is employed by the agency. She said she could not comment further on the issue because it involves personnel matters.

Curran appeared Thursday for his initial hearing in federal court in Casper. A judge read the charge and told Curran he would have a detention hearing within the next week. At that hearing, it will be decided whether Curran should remain in jail pending trial or be released. Curran requested he be appointed a public defender.

He appeared in the courtroom in jeans and a t-shirt, and was handcuffed.

According to the criminal complaint, Curran arrived at his home at about 10 p.m. Monday in Fort Washakie. His wife and two children were sleeping.

Curran’s wife told a Federal Bureau of Investigations agent her husband was drunk at the time, the complaint states. The couple argued and the woman tried to leave the home. However, Curran blocked the bedroom doorway and hit his wife.

According to the complaint, Curran then picked up his wife and carried her toward the basement. While doing so, the woman was able to pick up her cell phone and a cork screw bottle opener from their kitchen counter. She tried to stab Curran in the back with the cork screw. However, Curran threw the woman onto the ground and pushed her down the stairs into the basement, the complaint states.

Curran grabbed his wife by the arms and dragged her into a room where he keeps his police gear, according to the complaint. He cuffed her wrists and ankles and retrieved a pistol. He then threatened to kill his wife and bury her, the complaint states.

The woman dialed 911 on the cell phone and hid the phone behind her. A recording from the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office states Curran told his wife, “I can bury you,” according to the complaint.

Curran continued to threaten his wife while her hands were cuffed for about an hour and a half, the complaint states. She was eventually able to convince her husband to allow her to go upstairs with him. Curran directed the woman to sleep on a couch and checked on her frequently, according to the complaint.

When interviewed the next day by detectives, Curran’s wife had bruises and abrasions on her face, arms and legs, the complaint states.