NBC10 reporter Dray Clark charged with assault on girlfriend

NBC10 reporter and anchor Dray Clark was arrested Friday after allegedly assaulting his girlfriend at his home in Chester, police said.

Clark, 41, was charged with simple assault, terroristic threats, and related offenses, according to court records.

Aigner Cleveland, press secretary for Chester Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland, told police that she went to Clark’s home in the 700 block of Engle Street about 11 p.m. Thursday to “attempt to rectify” a prior domestic-related assault that occurred in New Castle County, Del., for which Clark also was arrested, according to the Chester police affidavit of probable cause.

NBC10 said in a statement Friday, “Station management learned today that Dray Clark was arrested in both domestic violence-related cases. We take these allegations very seriously. Effective immediately, Dray will be off the air pending the station’s investigation.”

Clark could not be reached for comment Friday night. His last public posts on Twitter and Facebook were from Sept. 15.

NBC10 reported that Clark was arrested in Wilmington last weekend after allegedly beating the same woman. The NBC10 report did not identify Cleveland.

Cleveland posted a statement on her Facebook page at 11:25 a.m. Friday and included photos of bruises on her face and scrapes on an arm and a knee. She also posted an image of a police report stating that the first incident was last Saturday in Wilmington.

“Disclaimer: everyone who knows me, knows that I am an extremely private person. But I hope what I am about to share helps someone who is questioning whether or not they should stay with an abusive spouse,” Cleveland wrote.

She alleged that Clark had assaulted on other occasions that were not reported to police.

“I should’ve left when he hit me the first time in February. I vaguely remember the second time. The third time I remember hysterically crying and my nose bleeding. The fourth time, I was left with a black eye, chipped tooth, and a busted jaw. I never hit him back. And I stayed. I justified it. He was arrested (9/21/19) and I still contemplated trying to work it out,” she wrote on Facebook.

“The fifth and last time, (last night, 9/26/19) he choked me. I finally hit him back but he then shoved me so hard that I have bruises all over my body. My son was around,” she wrote.

According to the Chester police report, Cleveland said she was on the porch with Clark when she asked to see his phone. An argument ensued and Clark “escalated it physically by placing his hands around [her] throat and choking her,” the police report said.

She said she dropped her phone and struck Clark once in the face to stop him, “however he continued until his brother emerged from within the residence,” according to the report.

Cleveland said that while she began looking for her phone, Clark allegedly shoved her to the ground and picked up her phone. The police report said that Clark’s brother attempted to mediate and invited the two inside.

She agreed to go inside because Clark had her phone and because her son was inside, the police report said.

“During the course of the verbal mediation, Clark again escalated to physical violence and once more choked [her] as she went to get her cell phone from him,” the police report said.

At some point, Cleveland sent a text message to Chester Police Commissioner Otis Blair reporting her location, and Blair confirmed that he received it at 11:53 p.m. Thursday, the police report said.

Cleveland said Clark’s brother was able to calm Clark down and she was able to leave the house with her son and phone, the police report said.

Cleveland met with the investigating police officer in Blair’s office on Friday morning, the police report said. The report did not explain how the woman knows the police commissioner.

Bail for Clark was set at $20,000.

Clark was hired by NBC10 in September 2017 from WABC in New York to co-anchor the weekend morning show. He had previously worked for five years for CBS3.