A New York City TV anchorman issued a death threat against his wife as he was being arrested on charges of attacking her at their Connecticut home, according to a court document released Tuesday.
New York City police, meanwhile, disclosed that they were called 11 times to the couple's home when they lived in Manhattan. One call resulted in an arrest, but the case was sealed, they said.
In the Connecticut case, a Darien police officer wrote that Rob Morrison, who works for WCBS-TV, "threatened that if he was released from police custody, he would kill his wife."
The document was offered in Superior Court in Stamford, in support of an order of protection against Morrison. Judge Kenneth Povadator ordered Morrison to stay 100 yards away from Ashley Morrison except when they're both at work.
She works for "CBS Moneywatch."
Rob Morrison, 44, was charged Sunday with strangulation, threatening and disorderly conduct. Officers had been called by his mother-in-law to the couple's home in Darien. They said Morrison had been belligerent toward his wife throughout the night and had wrapped his hands around her neck, leaving red marks.
Morrison's lawyer, Robert Skovgaard, did not enter a plea at the arraignment. He said afterward a plea would come "at the appropriate time."
Skovgaard said Monday that the allegations had been exaggerated and on Tuesday he referred to his previous statement.
Outside the courthouse, Morrison said: "I did not choke my wife. I've never raised my hands to my wife."
The NYPD said it was called 11 times between 2004 and 2009 to the couple's home on West 90th Street. In the 10 cases that did not result in an arrest, the calls involved verbal disputes and harassment, with no allegations of physical violence, the police said.
It was not clear if violence was alleged in the case that was sealed. Skovgaard did not immediately return a call about the New York incidents.
Morrison was released Tuesday on the $100,000 bond he posted Sunday. He is due back in court in Stamford on March 26.
Morrison, who has been a combat correspondent and was a reporter and anchor for WNBC-TV, anchors WCBS-TV's news programs "This Morning" and "News at Noon." Ashley Morrison worked for Bloomberg Television before joining "CBS MoneyWatch."
The couple has a young son.
Skovgaard said that because of the order of protection, Morrison "will not be going home tonight."
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Associated Press writer Colleen Long in New York contributed to this report.
