Christopher
Geldart, a District of Columbia (DC) deputy mayor, is on leave after
he was accused of assault outside a Gold’s Gym in Arlington, Virginia. Geldart
is a deputy mayor for public safety and justice. He is on personal leave
pending investigation, according to DC mayor Muriel Bowser.

Geldart and
members of his family were leaving the gym at around 12:30 pm on Saturday when
another man who works out at the same gym was also leaving. Witnesses told NBC
Washington that Geldart had opened his car door to put his daughter in the back
seat when the car door probably hit the other man. An altercation ensued.
Camera footage reviewed by local media indicated that there was some form of a
physical engagement before Geldart’s wife intervened.

The man
filed a police complaint on Monday at the Arlington’s magistrate office. Geldart
turned himself in and was released pending a preliminary hearing, NBC
Washington reported.

DC mayor
Bowser said that there isn’t a lot of detail about the incident yet. “Only
knowing very little, it sounds like, you know, something that happens to a lot
of folks – altercation over something minor – and I hope that it is resolved
and resolved quickly.”

Who is
Christopher Geldart?

Christopher
Geldart has been a long-time leader in the District of Columbia. Geldart was
appointed Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice on January 28, 2021. He has
previously served as the director of the Department of Public Works and DC’s
operational lead during DC’s initial COVID response.

He is
regarded as an expert in emergency management and has years of experience in
municipal, state and federal bodies. Between 2012 and 2017, Christopher Gildert
was put in charge of planning and executing the management of three presidentially-declared
disasters. He was also the man who led the response to Hurricane Sandy.

Geldart,
who has a bachelors degree in American history from the University of Maryland,
has also served as the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Director of the
National Capital Region Coordination Office.