July 3, 2024 Amherst police responded to the call in December. An arrest was made in April. A domestic violence report was made Dec.
3. Why did it take Amherst 4 months to make an arrest? After an Amherst mother told town police in early December that her estranged husband, Ryan M. O'Rourke, had strangled her in front of their three children, one of whom had to push their father away to stop the attack, she expressed concern about how her accusation would be handled.
"Ryan's dad and uncles are police officers and Ryan has always made it clear to me that nothing will ever happen to him because of his connections to law enforcement," the woman told police in a signed statement. O'Rourke is facing charges in the case, but a review of court documents related to the case suggests that this incident was not handled in a typical fashion. O'Rourke, 37, faces a felony count of second-degree strangulation, as well as four misdemeanors for the Dec.
3 incident, according to court records. The misdemeanor charges are assault and three counts of child endangerment. A special prosecutor is handling the case because one of O'Rourke's relatives works as an investigator for the Erie County District Attorney's Office, a spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office said.
That is Michael P. O'Rourke, Ryan O'Rourke's uncle, who is a retired state trooper. Ryan O'Rourke's grandfather, Michael G.
O'Rourke, also is a retired state trooper who works as a defense attorney. Ryan also has two relatives.