SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio police officer was arrested early Thursday after investigators said he struck a woman in the face during a domestic dispute.
Officer Christian Harris, 28, was arrested just before 3 a.m. after Bexar County Sheriff’s deputies responded to an assault call, according to an SAPD media release.
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Deputies said Harris attempted to leave the scene but was stopped a block away and taken into custody, the release states.
Harris has worked for SAPD since 2016 and was most recently assigned to the department’s east substation.
SAPD officials said Thursday Harris has now been temporarily suspended without pay.
A BCSO incident report states that deputies were called to a home in far west Bexar County after Harris’ alleged victim showed up and claimed she had been assaulted at another residence.
The woman, who KSAT is not naming, told deputies she had jumped over several fences to get away from Harris after hiding from him near a shed in the backyard following the domestic dispute.
She told investigators the couple had been drinking at bars downtown earlier in the night and that she had gotten upset because she felt Harris was talking to another woman, the report states.
After arriving home, Harris and the woman argued and he grabbed her cell phone and shattered it on the floor, according to the report.
Harris “proceeded to punch her with a closed fist in her mouth, causing cuts and lacerations to the inside of her lip,” the report states.
After the alleged attack, the woman said she hid in the couple’s backyard while Harris fed their dog and then began jumping over fences after Harris came outside with a flashlight to look for her, the report states.
Deputies at the scene noted that the woman had cuts on her hands and legs likely sustained while jumping over fences.
Harris was not at the couple’s home when deputies showed up, but he was pulled over a short distance away, the report states.
He was booked into jail on a Class A misdemeanor charge of assault causing bodily injury-married just before 6 a.m., magistrate records show.
Harris’ bond was set at $2,500. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Feb. 14.
To contact the Family Violence Prevention Services, the crisis hotline is 210-733-8810. Find more resources for victims of domestic violence here.”