A Gaston County police officer is accused of pulling out an assault rifle on Christmas Eve and threatening his family.

Tim Michael Leophard grabbed his AR-15 and threatened to shoot himself and any police officers who came to the house, according to officials.

Crying and yelling

Arrest warrants say Leophard shoved his wife against a wall and said, "I will kill you." He is also accused of pointing the loaded rifle at his wife and his mother in front of his children, ages 9, 10 and 14.

"Our children were present and saw the incident on 12/24/16. They were crying and yelling for him to stop," Amy Leophard wrote in a protection order Monday.

In the protection order, she said Tim Leophard threatened to kill her, himself and his mother.

The couple's children can be heard screaming, crying and pleading during the incident, and Amy Leophard said her husband was drunk.

Restraining order

Leophard was taken into custody Tuesday during a traffic stop and charged with six misdemeanor charges, including assault on a female, assault by pointing a gun, communicating a threat and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon with a minor present.

The restraining order was filed in the Gaston County Courthouse on Tuesday that prevents Leophard from having contact with his wife, going to their home, her relatives' homes or the children's schools. The document also dictates the officer not reside in any home with firearms.

The domestic violence order is effective until Jan. 18.

911 recording

Leophard made a first appearance in court via video on Wednesday. Attorney David Phillips was in court on his behalf to discuss bail because his client was on a domestic violence hold over night.

Leophard’s wife cried outside of the courtroom before the hearing and struggled to speak when addressed by the judge. She turned to Gaston County Assistant District Attorney Debbie Jackson to speak for her.

“She believes his threats are real,” Jackson said. “His threats can be readily heard on those (911) tapes.”

Attorneys discussed playing the recordings for District Court Judge Pennie Thrower, but they ultimately were not.

Shot on duty

Phillips asked the judge to consider a low bond considering several factors. Leophard is an Army veteran who has served two tours in Afghanistan, and he is a police officer who’s been home recovering since being shot on the job in 2015.

Leophard was part of a shooting in August 2015 in which a former Gaston County Police officer was fatally shot by a neighbor. Leophard and another Gaston County Police officer were also shot in the incident before police fatally shot the suspect.

Leophard has been out on leave since the shooting and may be facing another surgery, Phillips said.

Wednesday afternoon, Leophard was released from the police force, but remains a Gaston County employee to receive medical care from the shooting.

Unsafe in jail

Phillips said his client needs treatment, not jail, and he mentioned the dangers for a police officer released into general population behind bars.

"He’s a police officer. It’s not safe for him to be down in jail," Phillips said.

Judge Thrower assigned a $100,000 bond with restrictions, and she told Phillips she expected Leophard would be kept separate from other inmates in jail.

If released, Leophard will register with pretrial services and check in each week. He will not be able to return home or have contact with his wife, and he will wear a GPS monitoring system to ensure he obeys a 10 p.m. curfew.

You can reach Diane Turbyfill at 704-869-1817 and Twitter.com/GazetteDiane.