Council aide charged with assault on off-duty officer

An aide to City Councilman Jerry Davis was arrested early Friday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after an altercation with an off-duty Houston police officer at a bar.

Bryan Smart, 28, is accused of striking Officer J. Lewis several times with a beer bottle when Lewis sought to break up a fight between Smart and another patron at Diablo Loco Sports Bar, at 6025 Richmond, HPD spokesman Victor Senties said. Lewis and Smart were treated at the scene for cuts, he said.

Senties said the officer was working an extra job at the bar, which typically entails the officer wearing a uniform, but Sientes said it is not clear whether he was in uniform at the time of the 12:40 a.m. incident. Smart showed signs of intoxication, Senties said.

Smart, a deputy chief of staff to Davis earning $57,000 a year, has worked for the north Houston councilman since he took office in January 2012.

Davis said he had not been able to reach Smart, who did not return a call for comment late Friday. Davis said he and Smart have been friends for 13 years, and said Smart remains on staff.

"I'm going to wait to hear both sides of the story, figure out what happened and make a determination. I'm not just going to throw him to the wolves," the councilman said. "Separate from being his employer, his boss, I'm going to reach out to him and do everything I can as a friend. He's a family member and the guys in the office, they look at him as a family member, as well."