Police say the conflict began with a complaint about how loudly a woman was speaking. What each person says happened next now sits in a Cass County case file.
The Allegations Inside A Fargo Apartment
According to a report by Law & Crime, citing Cass County jail records, 36-year-old Michael David Schaffer of North Dakota is accused of attacking a woman during an evening gathering in a Fargo apartment. Prosecutors have charged him with aggravated assault with a weapon and domestic violence assault causing serious bodily injury, both serious felony-level allegations in North Dakota.[1]
The article describes a small group in the apartment in the early evening. Schaffer, the woman, and at least one other person were present. Police say the woman and the third person were talking, and Schaffer thought they were speaking too loudly. The criminal complaint, summarized by local NBC affiliate KVLY and relayed by Law & Crime, states that this dispute over volume was the spark for what followed.[2]
Law & Crime reports that, in the words of its own summary of the allegations, Schaffer is accused of “choking a woman for roughly 60 seconds and stabbing her with pliers because she was speaking too loudly.”[1]
Account From Investigators And Witnesses
Citing court documents obtained by KVLY, Law & Crime reports that Schaffer began breaking objects inside the apartment as his anger escalated. At some point, investigators say, he allegedly pushed the woman against a bathroom door and used one hand to choke her for about one minute.
Another person in the apartment appears to have been a key witness. That person reportedly yelled at Schaffer to stop. According to the charging documents, as described in local coverage, this intervention did not end the confrontation. Instead, police say Schaffer grabbed a pair of pliers, cursed, and used the tool to stab the woman in her right elbow.
Officers with the Fargo Police Department were called to the scene after the incident. When they arrived, they found the woman with two cuts on her right elbow, along with visible redness on her neck and chest, according to the Law & Crime summary of the police report.[1]
The Defendant’s Denial
After the reported assault, Schaffer was located in the entryway of the apartment building. Police say he had left the apartment, then returned, before officers encountered him. According to the Law & Crime article, which relies on the police narrative, Schaffer denied attacking the woman when questioned.
Instead, Schaffer reportedly told officers that the woman was the aggressor. The public reporting does not yet detail his full version of events, including what he says happened in the bathroom, whether he handled the pliers at all, or how he explains the woman’s injuries.
Law & Crime notes that he was arrested at the scene and booked into the Cass County jail. KVLY reported that he was scheduled for an arraignment the following day, which is usually the first court appearance where a judge formally reads the charges and considers conditions for release.
What The Injuries Show, And What They Do Not
The visible injuries described in the police report are limited but specific. Officers documented two cuts on the woman’s right elbow and redness on her neck and chest. Those findings are consistent with the outline of the allegations, in which police say the woman was choked and stabbed with pliers in the elbow.
Publicly available reporting has not yet indicated whether detectives photographed the injuries, collected the pliers for forensic testing, or documented broken items inside the apartment as potential corroboration. There is also no information in current coverage about whether neighbors heard the argument or the alleged choking, or whether any surveillance cameras in the building captured Schaffer’s movements before or after the incident.
Without those details, the outside view of the case rests heavily on two things. First, the statements of the woman and the other person inside the apartment, as summarized by police. Second, Schaffer’s denial and counterclaim that he was the one under attack.
Charges Under North Dakota Law
According to Law & Crime’s review of Cass County jail records, Schaffer faces two separate counts. One is aggravated assault with a weapon. The other is domestic violence assault causing serious bodily injury.[1]
Under North Dakota Century Code section 12.1-17-02, aggravated assault can be charged when a person causes serious bodily injury, uses a dangerous weapon, or engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of serious harm.[3] A conviction can be classified as a felony, with the exact level depending on the circumstances. Prosecutors here allege that pliers were used as a weapon, which may place the case into the more serious category.
Domestic violence assault cases in North Dakota are defined not only by the conduct but also by the relationship between the people involved. State law treats assaults differently when they occur in a domestic context, including between current or former romantic partners or household members. The charging decision in this case indicates that authorities consider the relationship between Schaffer and the woman to fall within that legal definition, though public reporting has not clarified how they know each other.
At this stage, the charges represent allegations, not findings. Schaffer is presumed innocent unless and until a judge or jury determines otherwise.
What The Public Still Does Not Know
Beyond the bare outline of the police narrative and the charges, many aspects of the case are not yet public. The probable cause affidavit, which would contain more detailed officer observations and statements from everyone involved, has not been widely published. Without that document, it is unclear what the third person in the apartment told police, what timeline investigators believe fits the evidence, or whether alcohol or other substances played any role.
There is also no public indication of whether Schaffer has prior arrests or convictions related to assault or domestic violence in North Dakota or elsewhere. That information, if it exists, would likely surface in court filings or at later hearings, especially if prosecutors seek to argue that he poses an ongoing risk.
For now, the case sits between two sharply different accounts. On one side, a police report that describes a woman being pushed against a door, choked for about a minute, and stabbed in the elbow with a hand tool after another person tried to intervene. On the other, a defendant who insists that he did not choke or stab her and that she was the one attacking him.
As the case moves through Cass County court, filings and hearings may reveal more about the evidence that supports or undermines each side of that divide. Until then, the public record shows a narrow but consequential dispute: whether a brief argument over speaking too loudly escalated into a felony assault, or whether the reality inside that Fargo apartment was different from what the first police report suggests.
SOURCES
[1] Law & Crime, “Man choked woman for 1 minute and stabbed her with pliers for speaking too loudly, police say”. https://lawandcrime.com/crime/man-choked-woman-for-1-minute-and-stabbed-her-with-pliers-for-speaking-too-loudly-police/
[2] KVLY (NBC Fargo), local crime and courts coverage. https://www.kvly.com
[3] North Dakota Century Code, Title 12.1, Chapter 17, Assaults. https://www.ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c17.pdf
