Candidates spar after Republican accuses Dem of ‘violence against women’

The candidates in Colorado’s gubernatorial race are sparring over a resurfaced 19-year old police report.

The report details a 1999 altercation between Democratic candidate Jared Polis and a woman who was allegedly stealing documents from his office.

The Republican candidate called the incident an example of “violence against women” with Polis firing back and accusing his opponent of trying to “exploit” the report.

{mosads}The police report, from 1999, resurfaced in a report by the right-leaning Washington Free Beacon.

The report noted that Polis’s former employee had bruises on her left arm and right leg, and was physically pushed away by Polis. The report added that the bruises were not consistent with statements made by either Polis or the employee.

The employee later pleaded guilty to stealing trade secrets.

During the altercation, the woman claimed Polis moved in front of the door to bar her exit, at which point she began striking him with her bag.

“Mr. Schutz physically blocked the door to prevent her from leaving. She moved toward him again, this time hitting him with one of her bags. Mr. Schutz then put both of his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back to prevent her from leaving,” the police report reads, using Polis’s full name, Jared Polis Schutz.

The gubernatorial campaign of Treasurer Walker Stapleton (R) pounced on the report, calling on Polis to “take responsibility” for the 1999 incident.

“Violence against women is never acceptable and Jared Polis needs to take responsibility for his actions,” the campaign said Tuesday. Polis’s campaign pushed back in a statement.

“Jared Polis was the victim of a crime, was the person who called the police, and was found to have done nothing wrong. Shame on Walker Stapleton for trying to exploit that,” said Lisa Kaufmann, Polis’s campaign chairman, according to Colorado Public Radio.

Polis and Stapleton are running to replace Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), who is term-limited and cannot run for reelection. Two polls of the gubernatorial race in June showed Polis with a single-digit lead over his opponent.

This article was updated at 5:05 p.m.