Washington Deputy Mayor Charged With Assault After Allegedly Grabbing Man by His Neck

Chris Geldart, D.C. Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, speaks at a news conference near a collapsed pedestrian bridge in Washington, D.C., on June 23, 2021. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Washington, D.C., Deputy Mayor Chris Geldart was charged with assault and battery after allegedly getting into a fight outside a gym in Virginia over the past weekend.

Geldart was placed “on leave” after the charges were filed against him, according to Democrat Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office.

“We take any accusations seriously and are reviewing the matter. While it is under review, Deputy Mayor Geldart is on leave. Unfortunately, it sounds like something that happens to a lot of people—a dispute over something minor—and we hope it is resolved quickly,” the mayor’s office told local media on Wednesday.

Geldart allegedly got into a verbal dispute with a man after opening his car door, hitting the vehicle belonging to the victim, said the Arlington County Police in Virginia.

“The suspect and male victim became engaged in a verbal dispute after the door of the suspect’s parked vehicle struck the vehicle the victim was entering,” said Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage. “The dispute escalated, during which the suspect allegedly grabbed the victim by the throat.”

Savage told Arlington Now that “the victim responded to the Office of the Magistrate, completed a criminal complaint and a warrant for Assault and Battery was issued for Christopher Geldart, 53, of Falls Church.”

Geldart later turned himself to law enforcement and was released on a court summons, she said.

Video Footage

Purported video footage of the incident shows a larger man approaching another man in a parking lot before the larger appears to push the other one away. The larger man is then seen walking back to the vehicle.

The District of Columbia’s website says Geldart has served as the District of Columbia’s Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice since he was named to the position in January 2021.

“Something should be done. It’s not okay,” Dustin Woodward, who’s identified as a trainer at the gym, told Fox5, saying that Geldart was involved in prior incidents at Gold’s Gym. “We’ve been dealing with him a while at Gold’s (Gym). Multiple locations actually that’s how we even figured out who he was.”

Woodward told the outlet that he was the victim as seen in the video.

“It’s a little frustrating, right? Because he’s way too big to be trying to be a bully, especially with his position,” he said, adding: “Something needs to be done because you can’t just abuse your power like that. That’s pretty frustrating on my end.”

The Epoch Times has contacted both the D.C. Mayor’s Office and Geldart for comment.

An automatic reply from Geldart’s email address said Thursday: “Thank you for contactiing the Office of the Deputy Mayor of Public Safety. Deputy Mayor Geldart will be out of the office.”