What exactly did happen to Bp. Pelotte?

One of the most strange (and troubling stories) happening right now involves the injuries sustained by Bp. Pelotte of Gallup, New Mexico. I briefly noted the story at the time a couple weeks ago.

CNA has the story near when it went public July 27th. Notable for our purposes is the fact that Bp. Pelotte sustained "Severe injuries to his face."

More strange still, however, is the story that Bp. Pelotte is circulating as the reason for his injuries: a fall down the stairs. This explanation is simply inconsistent with his injuries which appear "to have been the result of a severe beating," as CWNews relates on August 2nd.

Local news sources aren't satisfied with the official account either, and Rocco mentions that the bishop had his life threatened back in 2005. Gerard has posted on this story as well, and the attention it has been increasingly receiving recently. Diogenes doesn't buy the official line. AMDG has some coverage of the local news reporting on the story.

Sadly, the first explanation that normally comes to mind in this kind of situation - presuming the Bishop was actually assaulted and did not, as he claim, fall down the stairs - is that the Bishop has something to hide and is embarrassed about some aspect of his conduct relating to the event.

Or, again, it could be that he is trying to somehow defend his attacker for that person's best interest. But really, it's extremely difficult to envision a set of circumstances where Bishop Pelotte would be justified in his manner of treating the media (let alone his diocese, which, I would argue, has a legitimate right to know what has befallen their shepherd).

As a side note, Bishop Pelotte is the first American-Indian bishop.