A Harris County Sheriff's Office deputy found himself on the wrong side of the law after being accused of assaulting his girlfriend. Lee Ingle, 38, has been charged with assault on a family member, as reported by Click2Houston. Court documents allege that on Friday, Ingle "did then and there unlawfully, intentionally and knowingly cause bodily injury" by grabbing and squeezing his girlfriend's arm during a dispute. Following his arrest, he has posted a $500 bond and is prohibited from making any contact or coming within 200 feet of the victim's home or workplace.
The recent incident isn't Ingle's first brush with controversy. Arrested after a car ride that escalated into an argument led to the assault accusation, ABC13 reveals that this case emerges amid a backdrop of previous charges against the deputy. Ingle is named in a civil lawsuit for purportedly using excessive force in an altercation at a restaurant last year. Moreover, his record includes past charges related to shooting investigations that were later dropped by authorities.
In light of this arrest, the Harris County Sheriff's Office has suspended Ingle, though he remains on their payroll pending the outcome of an internal investigation. Ingle, who has spent half a decade with HCSO's crime reduction unit, also had a stint with the Houston Police Department, resigning in 2018 under unclear circumstances.
This is a developing situation, and the deputy is scheduled to return to court on December 15. While his girlfriend did not sustain injuries from the alleged assault, a judge has issued an emergency protective order in her favor. As Ingle's career hangs in the balance, he has previously been entangled in legal issues and charged with shooting investigations, though the cases never saw the light of day in court, leaving his past actions shrouded in a cloak of legal ambiguity.
