COHOES — The New York State Police will take over the investigation of a domestic violence incident in which the wife of Cohoes Mayor Shawn Morse called 911 last week and reported that her husband grabbed her neck and threw her to the ground.

Cohoes police on Monday announced that inherent conflicts between the mayor's supervisory role and their official duties prompted them to turn the case over to the State Police.

The announcement came as the office of Albany County District Attorney David Soares also was gathering information related to the allegations and examining the response by Cohoes police.

"We are aware of the domestic violence allegations involving Mayor Shawn Morse and we are proceeding as we do with every matter presented to our office," said Heather Streeter Orth, a spokeswoman for Soares. "Any further comment would be premature at this time."

Cohoes Assistant Chief Tom Ross said Saturday that a police captain who went to the residence Friday morning, a couple hours after the initial three responding officers left, had "discounted" the allegations made in the 911 call, and no charges were filed.

The Times Union reported Sunday that Capt. Todd Pucci made the decision to not arrest Morse after he met the mayor at the residence. Pucci went to the residence after three patrol officers, including a sergeant, had already been there and interviewed Brenda Morse.

Pucci is a close friend of the mayor's and, according to a Facebook post, attended a social outing with the mayor and their wives on Saturday night at the Rivers Casino in Schenectady.

Cohoes police were called to the couple's Grandview Avenue residence when Brenda Morse called 911 at 7:45 a.m. Friday. She told a dispatcher that she had "scratches" and that her husband had thrown her to the ground when she stepped between him and their 19-year-old daughter, according to a police record and a person familiar with other details of the call.

Shawn Morse disputes that information and said no children were at the residence when he argued with his wife that morning.

The initial call was cut off. When Brenda Morse called back, she told a dispatcher she was using her daughter's phone because her husband had smashed her own device.

A police record of the calls states that Brenda Morse was using a "911-only" mobile phone when she called dispatchers back. Law enforcement agencies and domestic violence organizations often provide victims of abuse with "911-only" phones, but it's not clear if Brenda Morse had that type of device.

Shawn Morse on Monday said that his wife does not own a "911-only" phone and that she accidentally used a disabled phone — her old phone — to try and call him. Instead, he said, the phone dialed 911.

Dispatchers wrote in a record that Brenda Morse, who called 911 twice, stated "her husband is the mayor of Cohoes ... male grabbed her by the throat and threw her to the ground has scratches all over her and there's one child in (t)he residence."

In a telephone interview Saturday, Morse denied that his wife had told the dispatcher the things listed in the police record.

On Monday, Morse declined a request by the Times Union that he and his wife authorize the release of any 911 recordings from the incident.

"You guys have done enough damage to my family," he said in a text message.

Morse had what appeared to be a fresh scratch on his left cheek near his eye when he attended a ceremony Saturday afternoon for the dedication of the new Cohoes Veterans Memorial Park on Columbia Street. In a telephone interview later that day, Morse denied he had a scratch on his face.

Ross, the assistant chief, said in an interview Saturday that Pucci did not see any scratches or signs of "choking" on Brenda Morse, but that there "was a little scratch on Shawn's face under the eye."

In an interview Monday evening, Morse said he and his wife began arguing at 6 a.m. Friday and he left the residence 15 minutes later and did not return until after 8 a.m., about 25 minutes after she had made to 911 calls to police.

Morse said he returned to his residence when the patrol officers were still there interviewing his wife. He said there was no physical altercation and he is not sure what information his wife provided to the officers.

"I don’t know what she said because my wife was very upset," Morse said. "I didn’t run away; I didn’t even know they were called."

The statement issued by Cohoes police said the decision to turn the case over to State Police was not related to the work of the three officers who initially responded to the call.

A person familiar with the case said the three patrol officers filed a domestic incident report that would have documented what they saw and any statements made by a victim, witness or suspect. Normally, a victim of domestic violence is asked to sign the incident report, but it's not known if that happened; the document has not been made public.

"In the interest of maintaining the integrity of the mayor’s office of Cohoes and the Cohoes Police Department, and in the spirit of full transparency, the investigation will be turned over to the New York State Police for investigation," the statement reads. "The transfer of the case was encouraged and embraced by the mayor."