Longtime New York anchorman Rob Morrison choked his fellow-journalist wife, Ashley, at their tony Connecticut home — then threatened her in front of cops, authorities said yesterday.
Morrison, of WCBS/Channel 2, was arrested Sunday morning, several weeks after Darien police responded to a domestic incident at their home that did not end in charges, sources told The Post.
The 44-year-old newsman was also arrested in 2009 for allegedly assaulting Ashley — an anchor for “CBS MoneyWatch” — at their Upper West Side apartment, a source said.
And New York police said that between 2003 and 2009, cops were called there for seven verbal disputes — none of which led to an arrest.
That sordid track record is worlds away from the handsome Morrison’s public image as a top-notch journalist with two decades of experience.
The ex-Marine spent 10 years at WNBC/Channel 4, hosting the morning show “Today in New York” before joining WCBS in 2009 to anchor the CBS 2 “News This Morning,” as well as “At Noon” with Mary Calvi.
Sources said Morrison left WNBC in 2008 because his wife suspected him of having an affair with an intern.
For more than a year, he stayed at home, taking care of the couple’s now-7-year-old son and writing a blog for the Huffington Post titled “Daddy Diaries: Confessions of a Stay-at-Home Anchorman.”
Ashley Morrison’s mother, Martha Risk, told The Post she was the one who had called the cops on Morrison in the latest incident.
“I’m angry, so angry,” Risk said.
The Indiana woman accused Rob Morrison of repeatedly abusing her daughter.
“This doesn’t shock me. This has gone on for 10 years,” she said.
Asked why Ashley, 40, hadn’t left him, Risk said, “She’s in fear.”
Early Sunday morning, Risk said, she was sleeping at home when her phone rang with “Rob Morrison” on caller ID.
“I’ve gotten many calls from him” over the years, Risk said. “I’m sure he was drunk.”
She phoned Darien cops to report Morrison was choking Ashley, police said.
A source said Morrison told his mother-in-law Ashley was “making bad decisions” and had clocked him in the face, leaving him with a bleeding nose and mouth.
“She struck him in self-defense,” the source said.
Cops arrived at the Morrison residence at 1:30 a.m.
“While being processed [by cops, Rob Morrison] made verbal threats to do his wife additional harm, which was overheard by the arresting officers,” police said.
Morrison was charged with strangulation, threatening and disorderly conduct. Cops released his mug shot, which showed Morrison with a cut nose and bruised lip.
He was released after posting $100,000 bond and is due to be arraigned today in Stamford Superior Court.
Morrison’s lawyer, Robert Skovgaard, said the incident had beenoverblown.
“The Morrisons are confident that a full review of this matter will show that the allegations have been greatly exaggerated,” he said.
Additional reporting by Michael Shain, Beth DeFalco and Kevin Sheehan