Christopher
Geldart, District of Columbia deputy mayor of public safety and justice, is on
professional leave pending an investigation into assault and battery charges
against him. The charges were brought after Dustin Woodward, a gym trainer,
filed a complaint against the deputy mayor at the Arlington magistrate’s office
for assault.

Geldart,
53, was coming out of a Gold’s Gym in the 3900 block of Wilson Boulevard, in
the Ballston area, when, while he was putting his daughter in the back seat of
the car, the door hit another car. An altercation ensued between Geldart and
the owner of the other car – identified by Fox5 as Dustin Woodward. As tempers
flared things came to fisticuffs. According to Woodward’s complaint to the
police, the deputy mayor held him by throat. Geldart’s wife reportedly
intervened to break up the fight.

Who is
Dustin Woodward?

Dustin
Woodward is said to be the ‘victim’ in the Christopher Geldart assault case.
Woodward was identified as Fox5 to be a trainer at a Gold’s Gym. “We’ve been
dealing with him a while at Gold’s,” Woodward told Fox5, adding: “Multiple
locations actually that’s how we even figured out who he was, so something
needs to be done because you can’t just abuse your power like that. That’s
pretty frustrating on my end.”

Also Read | Who is Christopher Geldart, DC deputy mayor accused of assault?

According
to Woodward’s LinkedIn profile, he is a sports performance and personal
training provider. Woodward is a graduate in General Studies from The
University of Virginia’s College at Wise. He is an ACE (American Council on
Exercise) certified trainer.

What did
the police say?

According
to the Arlington police, “the suspect (Geldart) and the male victim (Woodward)
became engaged in a verbal dispute after the door of the suspect’s parked
vehicle struct the vehicle the victim was entering. The dispute escalated,
during which the suspect allegedly grabbed the victim by the throat.”

Also Read | DC deputy mayor on leave after assault complaint

“During the
course of the investigation, a suspect description was developed and on
Tuesday, 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.”

Police say
Geldart was notified by phone of the warrant. He turned himself in and was
released on a summons.