Congressman’s Aide Accused of Beating Boyfriend With Shovel

The aide who handled online media for Congressman Sander Levin of Detroit is on unpaid leave pending criminal charges regarding domestic violence, involving not his wife but his boyfriend, according to the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

A report by Baltimore City Police shows officers arrested Tim Foster, an aide to the Democratic House member, around 2:30 a.m. last Thursday.

Police say Foster used a small shovel to beat another man, who suffered abrasions and bruises on his upper back, neck, and torso, requiring hospitalization. The altercation, at a home in northwest Baltimore, apparently started as a verbal dispute between Foster, 32, and the 39-year-old black male identified by police as his boyfriend; his name has not been disclosed.

The victim told police Foster put him in a choke hold and said, "I want to kill you. Die dirty faggy." Foster, according to the report, released his boyfriend but then grabbed a kitchen knife and threatened to stab him. Foster's wife "got in the way" when he lunged at the man, and the knife fell to the floor, Roll Call reports. Police say Foster kept hitting the man as he fled to his car, which he drove to a local hospital.

Foster was booked into the Baltimore County Detention Center. He was released Friday but faces second-degree assault and dangerous weapons charges, on which he is set to appear in court November 10.

Foster has worked for the congressman for seven years, and has been online communication manager since May 2013. Levin's longtime chief of staff, Hilarie Chambers, said the office had no comment.