Former Indianapolis mayor arrested for domestic violence

Former mayor of Indianapolis Stephen Goldsmith was allegedly involved in a domestic abuse scandal. This was a catalyst in his decision to resign from his position as deputy mayor of New York City, the New York Post and New York Times reported yesterday.

Both papers reported that Stephen Goldsmith was arrested after police were called July 30 to the home he shares with his wife in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.

“I should have put a bullet through you years ago!” Margaret Goldsmith allegedly told her husband,the Post reported.

Stephen Goldsmith then allegedly grabbed a phone from his wife’s hands, slammed it on the ground and grabbed his wife.

The Post reported that Margaret Goldsmith screamed, “Let me go, let me go,” and dug her nails into his arms, causing him to release her. She then ran to another room to call the police.

Police arrived and arrested Stephen Goldsmith, who consequently spent two days in a Washington, D.C. jail on charges of simple assault domestic violence, but his wife decided not to press charges.

The couple released separate statements to the press denying any violence took place. Margaret Goldsmith’s statement said, “there was no crime committed by Stephen or myself. There was no violence nor any physical harm ... There have never been any kind of domestic assault or violence in our marriage.”

She said the report that the Post and Times based their stories upon was “misconstrued as well as taken out of context.”

Stephen Goldsmith said in a statement that he was arrested despite objections from his wife and no charges were ever filed.

“Although Margaret under oath has affirmed the absence of violence and my actual innocence, I offered my resignation in order not to be a distraction to the mayor and his important agenda for the city,” Stephen said.

Stephen Goldsmith was elected mayor of Indianapolis in 1991 and served in that position until 2000. He mounted an unsuccessful bid for governor of Indiana in 1996, losing to former Governor Frank O’Bannon.

He was appointed deputy mayor of operations for New York City by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in 2010.

Upon his resignation as deputy mayor Aug. 4, the New York Times reported “his short tenure was complicated by controversies, most notably after the city’s slow response to a crippling snowstorm in December.”

— Zach Ammerman