Harris Co. Sheriff's Officer Accused of Injuring Son Arrested Again

Jason Spencer, chief of staff for Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, accused of abusing his son, was arrested Friday afternoon in Woodlands for allegedly violating a protection order, according to the county sheriff's office of Montgomery.

Spencer was arrested Friday afternoon just before 4 p.m. outside a two-story home in The Woodlands that was under the protection order issued by a Harris County district court, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said in an article on social networks. Officers found him sitting in a car in front of the home, in an apparent violation of the order, the office said, and he was booked into the Montgomery County Jail that evening.

The 50-year-old was out of bond after being charged in Harris County in early May with injury to a child in connection with a 2023 allegation that he attacked his teenage son.

His son accused Spencer of pinning him against a wall during a fight in September 2023 after the teen got into an argument with a sibling, according to court records. Spencer first yelled at the child to go to his room, before the argument became more heated. The child fell down the stairs when Spencer threw a plastic gun case at him and the teen asked the brother to take photos of his bruises later, records show.

Murray Newman, Spencer's defense attorney, previously said his client was innocent and said the sheriff's official loved his children.

Spencer, a former deputy editor of the Houston Chronicle, has been with the Harris County Sheriff's Office since 2017, when he joined the agency as director of public affairs. He briefly left the office and returned as Gonzalez's chief of staff.

The sheriff's office previously said he would “remain on duty” while the cases played out in court.