County releases audio of 911 call related to Supervisor Keith Marshall's arrest

Caller says Marshall pushed and hit him, and kicked one of his dogs

The Orange County Emergency Communications Center has released a recording of the 911 call that preceded the arrest of Orange County Supervisor Keith Marshall (District 3) of Unionville on the evening of August 19. The release of the audio was in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from Byrd Street.

After taking the 911 call and reporting to the scene, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office turned over the case to the Virginia State Police, which arrested Marshall on charges of assault and battery and public intoxication. According to Orange County Sheriff Jason Smith, his office referred the case to the state police to avoid a conflict of interest.

Marshall, a Unionville dairy farmer who has served as District 3 supervisor since 2021, was taken to the Central Virginia Regional Jail in Orange. He was released on an unsecured bond after he was determined to be sober.

In the audio recording, which is about seven minutes long, a man gives his address (that a confidential source told me is employee housing on Marshall’s property) and identifies himself as Christopher Arnold. Sounding angry and at times breathing hard, he identifies his assailant as Keith Marshall.

At the 38-second mark of the call, the dispatcher says, “You said he attempted to hit you, is that correct?” Arnold replies, “He pushed me and hit me on the side of the face.”

The dispatcher tells Arnold that he’s typing up notes from the call and says, “Give me just one second. I’m going to ask you a couple more questions.” In response, Arnold says, “Well, you need to hurry up ’cause he’s drunk, and he’s getting ready to get in his vehicle.”

The conversation between the dispatcher and Arnold is chaotic, with dogs barking in the background and another man, apparently Marshall, sometimes speaking up in the background. At one point, Arnold says he’s calling from Marshall’s phone. Starting at the 1:56 mark, the dispatcher asks Arnold if he knows approximately how old Marshall is. Arnold guesses 60 or 62, but then it appears Marshall himself supplies the correct answer, which Arnold repeats.

Dispatcher: And what’s he wearing?

Christopher Arnold: 65. He’s, right now he’s laying right here on the ground.

Dispatcher: Okay. What’s—

Arnold: He hasn’t gotten in the vehicle yet.

Dispatcher: All right. What’s he wearing?

Arnold: A plaid shirt with, uh, blue jeans. Come here, Slim. Keith, I’m sorry, but I’m telling you I’m not putting up with it. You smacking me like you just did. That's uncalled for. [inaudible voice in background] Get in there. Come here.

Dispatcher: Okay, and how many minutes ago did this happen?

Arnold: It just happened.

Dispatcher: Okay.

Arnold: Come here, Slim. He let my damn dogs out. You touch that dog cage and I’ll, I’ll push charges on you.

There is crosstalk later in the call that makes it hard to understand every word that the dispatcher is saying. Based on context, it seems he is asking whether there were any weapons involved in the confrontation. In response, Arnold says, “No, just a cane. Just a cane.”

According to Public Information Officer Sgt. Brent W. Coffey of the Virginia State Police, the victim of the assault used a walking cane to defend himself against Marshall.

During the 911 call, Arnold repeatedly expresses concern about his dogs and threatens to hurt Marshall if law enforcement doesn’t arrive soon: “And y’all need to hurry up ‘cause he keeps letting my dogs out. And something serious is gonna happen.”

At the 3:10 mark, the dispatcher says, “We do have a couple of units that are coming as quickly as possible.”

Arnold says, “He keeps letting my dogs out. I'm gonna tell you I’m gonna hurt him.” In the background, the man who seems to be Marshall calls out, “No, you’re not.”

Amid the sounds of barking, Arnold tells the dispatcher that he’s trying to prevent his dogs from running away. Marshall appears to speak up again.

Arnold: Rebel, stay in the pen. He done kicked one of my dogs.

Man’s voice: I have not!

Arnold: I watched you kick him when you got out the truck! Yeah.

Dispatcher: Okay. And sir, does anyone need a, uh, medical attention?

Arnold: No.

At the 5:45 mark, Arnold tells the dispatcher that Marshall has started up his truck. He adds, “And I don't feel safe. ‘cause I tell you right now he’s drunk. And I’m walking with a fricking cane!”

The dispatcher tells Arnold to note which direction Marshall goes if he drives away.

As the call winds down, Arnold says, “I hear the sirens.” He continues, “All because we got into an altercation today at work and he fired me. And by law I got 30 days to be out.”

The dispatcher directs him to speak to a deputy who’s now on the scene, and the call ends.

Marshall is due in Orange General District Court at 8:30 a.m. today (Wednesday, Aug. 28) for a hearing on his case. As the board of supervisors’ vice chair, he spent last night participating in a marathon meeting and public hearing, which ended with the board voting unanimously to deny a special use permit application for a Sunfish solar installation project involving 900-plus acres.

District 3 Supervisor Keith Marshall. Photo from Orange County government website.

In case you missed it

“Both of them know they messed up” Insider’s account of incident leading to OC Supervisor Keith Marshall’s arrest (Aug. 26, 2024)

Breaking news: OC Supervisor Keith Marshall arrested for assault and battery, public intoxication (Aug. 22, 2024)