Cops: No Record of a 2011 Morrison Arrest [UPDATE]

Editor's note: For further coverage, see also "Darien Police Had Sought Arrest Warrant for Morrison in Jan."

Update 11:29 a.m., Thursday:

A Darien police spokesman says the department has no record of an Oct. 17, 2011 arrest of Rob Morrison in Darien as the New York Post reported Wednesday.

"We have no record on file relative to an arrest of Robert Morrison in 2011," Darien police Capt. Fred Komm said in an email just sent to Darien Patch.

The Post reported on Wednesday: "Cops had been to the couple’s Darien home before. Records obtained yesterday show Rob Morrison was arrested Oct. 17, 2011, for disorderly conduct in an incident involving Ashley."

Connecticut state law allows for arrest records to be erased in some circumstances when charges are dropped or when a defendant is granted the privileges of the state's accelerated rehabilitation program, in which charges are dropped after a specified period of time.

Update 8:39 p.m.:

Rob Morrison's attorney, Robert Skovgaard of Stamford, has submitted a written motion to modify the order of protection against Morrison to allow him to visit his home.

Skovgaard's motion, dated Wednesday, Feb. 20, points out that Morrison's wife, Ashley, who is protected by the order, does not want her husband prohibited from going to their home. (A copy of the motion is attached to this article.)

Police initially issued the order of protection after an officer said Morrison told police he would kill his wife if released. (A copy of the officer's brief statement, on an order-of-protection form filed with state Superior Court in Stamford is attached to this article.)

Update 1:41 p.m.:

The New York Post and New York Daily News are reporting that Rob Morrison has resigned from his job as an anchor for WCBS-TV.

Update 11:55 a.m.:

WCBS-TV anchor Rob Morrison, arrested by Darien police on domestic violence charges Sunday, "blamed himself" for the domestic dispute that got him arrested, according to the New York Daily News.

The newspaper reported that in a Tuesday night interview with Morrison, he said it was an "absolute fabrication" that he had threatened to kill his wife, Ashley, the Daily News reported.

In statements made on Tuesday, when he appeared in state Superior Court in Stamford, Morrison told reporters that he did not choke his wife, as police have alleged.

Morrison said one lesson from his situation is not to get your mother-in-law mad at you, according to the Daily News report. A call from the Indiana mother of Morrison's wife, Ashley, to Darien police at 1:30 a.m. Sunday led to Morrison's arrest.

Update 11:17 a.m., Wednesday:

Ashley Morrison was too afraid of her husband, WCBS-TV anchor Rob Morrison, to write out a complaint against him for Darien police, according to a report in the New York Post, citing the Darien police report.

She also refused to allow police to photograph red marks on her neck where police believe her husband choked her, the Post reported.

The Post also quoted a police report stating that Ashley Morrison's brother, Gregory Risk, said Rob Morrison told him that if Ashley ever left him, he would shoot Ashley's son in front of her and then shoot her.

The Post also reported: "Cops had been to the couple’s Darien home before. Records obtained yesterday show Rob Morrison was arrested Oct. 17, 2011, for disorderly conduct in an incident involving Ashley."

Update 9:56 p.m., Tuesday:

WCBS-TV Anchor Rob Morrison threatened to kill his wife, a Stamford judge was told when Morrison appeared in court Tuesday on domestic violence-related charges.

Morrison said he would kill his wife, according to a Darien police report by an officer who wrote that he overheard Morrison as he was being arrested Sunday on domestic violence-related charges after a dispute with his wife, Ashley, in their Darien home, according to the Darien Times.

Morrison appeared Tuesday in state Superior Court in Stamford, where Judge Kenneth Povodator kept in place a restraining order that Rob Morrison stay at least 100 yards away from his wife—although the order did not apply at work, where both husband and wife are anchors on different television programs. A victim's advocate told the judge that Ashley Morrison preferred to have the restraining order lifted, according to the Darien Times.

The judge said he would err on the side of caution because of Rob Morrison's previous behavior, according to the Darien Times.

The New York Post reported that Morrison had been arrested on a charge of assaulting his wife in 2009 when the couple lived in New York City, and that police there had been to the couple's home on several occasions from 2003 to 2009 on reports of "seven verbal disputes—none of which led to an arrest."

Town police had been to the home in Darien several weeks before on a report of a domestic incident, but no arrest resulted, according to the Post.

Update 7:14 p.m.:

Robert and Ashley Morrison released this statement through their attorney, Robert Skovgaard of Stamford (the document is attached to this article):

"Rob and Ashley Morrison are cooperating fully with the authorities to ensure that all of the information necessary to properly evaluate this unfortunate incident is made available.

"The Morrisons are confident that a full review of this matter will show that the allegations have been greatly exaggerated.

"While this matter is being addressed, Rob and Ashley hope that their family's privacy will be respected."

Update 12:15 p.m.:

WCBS anchor Robert Morrison was arrested in Darien on Sunday after he allegedly got into a domestic altercation with his wife at their home.

Darien police gave this account of the matter:

Morrison had become "increasingly beligerant toward his wife" that evening, reaching the point where he choked her with both hands around her neck. At about 1:30 p.m., his mother-in-law called police and told them there was a domestic altercation at her daughter's home.

When officers arrived at the home, they saw red marks on the neck of Morrison's wife, Ashley, and concluded that Morrison choked her. While being processed, officers said they also heard Morrison verbally threaten to harm his wife further.

Morrison was charged with second-degree strangulation, second-degree threatening and disorderly conduct. Bond was set at $100,000, which he met and was released. He was scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday, Feb. 19.

Morrison and his wife, who is also a news anchor for CBS, issued a joint statement through their lawyer calling the allegations "greatly exaggerated."

Morrison was the master of ceremonies at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the reopening of the Darien YMCA in September, which was attended by Congressman Jim Himes, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, State Representative Terrie Wood and State Senators Bob Duff and Carlo Leone.

Editor's note: This article was updated at 12:15 p.m.