LUCEDALE, Miss. (AP) — A south Mississippi lawmaker punched his wife in the face after she didn’t undress quickly enough when the lawmaker wanted to have sex, according to a police report in the case.
Republican state Rep. Doug McLeod of Lucedale was arrested Saturday on a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.
The Sun Herald reports the document was filed with the George County Sheriff’s Department. McLeod is free on bail. He didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The 58-year-old McLeod has represented George and Stone counties since 2012. He’s unopposed for reelection this year.
McLeod hasn’t responded to requests for comment. It’s unclear if he has a lawyer.
Republican House Speaker Philip Gunn of Clinton said McLeod should step down if he did punch his wife.
“I have attempted to contact Rep. McLeod to request his resignation if in fact, these allegations are true,” Gunn said in a statement Tuesday. “These actions are unacceptable for anyone.”
Deputies reported McLeod was drunk and holding a glass of alcohol when they arrived at the family’s home Saturday night. Deputies report McLeod had punched his wife and bloodied her nose. They found blood on the bed and bedroom floor.
When McLeod opened the door and officers told him they were responding to a report of a domestic assault, they wrote that he replied: “Are you kidding me?”
The deputies said they could hear McLeod when he walked back inside, yelling that “the cops are here.”
“Mr. McLeod had slurred speech and walked slowly in a zigzag pattern,” deputies wrote, adding he was so inebriated he had to grab a handrail to maintain his balance.
When deputies entered, they said two women were standing at the top of a stairwell and both appeared frightened. McLeod’s wife eventually came outside after deputies assured her they would keep her away from her husband.
The deputy said McLeod’s wife was shaking and upset. McLeod’s wife said her husband was drunk and “just snapped,” as he often does when under the influence of alcohol, the report said.
Another woman present said McLeod’s wife came running up to her room, her face bloodied. The woman shut the door and locked it with McLeod’s wife inside.
The other woman said McLeod started banging on the door and telling the women to open it. He told the other woman if she didn’t open the door, he’d “kill her (expletive) dog.”
McLeod’s wife did not want to go to the hospital by ambulance but assured authorities she’d have her daughter take her to get checked so authorities would have a report of the injuries.
George County Sheriff Keith Havard said the investigation is continuing.
