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Artem Chigvintsev called 911 and accused his wife, Nikki Garcia, of throwing shoes at him before he was ultimately arrested for domestic violence and charged with felony corporal injury to a spouse or cohabitant.
Following the 42-year-old Dancing With the Stars pro’s arrest on Thursday, radio dispatch has been released, confirming he was the one who called for help, citing a supposed “medical emergency” and suggesting it was Nikki, 40, who was the aggressor.
In the footage, obtained by TMZ on August 30, a dispatcher was heard saying that the call “initially came in as requesting medical” before saying Artem was “stating he got into an argument with his wife and his wife threw shoes at rp [reporting party].”
The dispatcher continued, “There is a child on scene. Medical en route … [And] there’s an active 415 [disturbing the peace] in the background responsible.”
Although Artem requested medical assistance upon calling 911, he later changed his mind.
“RP is stating no medical is needed now,” the dispatcher stated.
Artem went on to tell the dispatcher that his wife had their child and that the two of them were physically separated at that point. Still, police arrived at the home an hour later, observed injuries on the alleged victim, and Artem was arrested.
While Nikki has not yet spoken out about her husband’s arrest, she did release a statement, via her rep, requesting privacy for her family.
Meanwhile, another TMZ report reflected on Nikki’s 2021 appearance on Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s podcast, Off the Vine, where she admitted to seeking couples counseling with Artem in 2021 to address communication issues, specifically how Artem spoke to her. As she explained at the time, Artem had trouble controlling his tone with her when he was stressed out.
After Kaitlyn, 39, said she often wondered if Artem liked her during their time together on DWTS season 29 due to how he spoke to her, Nikki revealed she almost quit season 25 over his behavior.
She then stated that she hoped to address the issue after the addition of their son, Matteo, now 4.
Following his arrest, Artem, who was said to be upset about his DWTS contract not being renewed for season 33, was released on $25,000 bail.
