Police: Wife Gets Punched, Husband Gets Arrested

A New Canaan woman who already had a protective order against her husband called police Wednesday, Feb. 26, to tell them he'd hit her, and the man was then arrested.

Police gave this account (an accusation not proven in court) of the incident:

at 12:27 p.m., the woman called police to report the incident. When police arrived at the couple's home on Bank Street, they found the 50-year-old woman had red marks and swelling near her mouth.

She told police that her husband, Benjamin Ritter, 66, had grabbed her cell phone from her when she first tried to call 911. She was able to call later.

Police, who had been to the home before, in May 2013 after a report of domestic violence, had a protective order on file which forbid Ritter to strike, threaten or harass his wife.

Ritter was charged with third-degree assault, interfering with a 911 call and criminal violation of a protective order. He was held on $10,000 bond, which he didn't meet until he was arraigned the next day in state Superior Court in Stamford.