DC’s former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety didn’t want to leave post after assault arrest

By Eric Flack

Geldart was later cleared of wrongdoing, but said meeting with Mayor Bowser left no choice but to step down.

WASHINGTON — For the first time since he was cleared of assault charges, D.C.’s former Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Chris Geldart is talking about his time as the District’s top public safety official while defending his record on crime.

“Of course, I do,” Geldart said when asked if he misses the job. “You know, I’ve been a public servant for almost 30 years”

Geldart is also publicly discussing, for the first time, what happened behind closed doors with Mayor Muriel Bowser after Geldart was charged with misdemeanor assault for a parking lot confrontation in October with a Golds Gym trainer.

When asked if he wanted to leave his position as Deputy Mayor, Geldart said definitely not.

“No,” he said. “No, I didn’t.”

When asked if Mayor Bowser asked for his resignation, Geldart was vague.

“I submitted the resignation to the Mayor, and she ultimately accepted,” Geldart said.

When pressed on whether he fought to keep his job, Geldart again spoke in generalities.

“We had a conversation and in the end of it, it was very clear that the right thing to do was to make sure she had (the resignation) and she could make her decision on that,” Geldart said.

Bowser announced Geldart’s resignation days after his arrest but had no comment In late November when Arlington County prosecutors dropped the charges, based on witness accounts that the trainer, not Geldart, may have been the aggressor.

Read more: WUSA9