Former TV news anchor arrested for horrific treatment of girlfriend during drunken rage
A former South Dakota TV news anchor has been arrested after allegedly grabbing the throat of his girlfriend and throwing her to the floor several times in a drunken rage.
A former South Dakota TV news anchor has been arrested after allegedly grabbing the throat of his girlfriend and throwing her to the floor several times in a drunken rage.
The former local news anchor Shad Olson, 52, was accused of assault of an unidentified woman at her home in Rapid City in February 2024.
Olson called his girlfriend of eight years a crazy b*** while he assaulted her, according to the affidavit. The woman said she ran from the home barefoot and thought she was going to die.
[Olson] lifted her up by her throat stating, "you made me do this" and continued shaking her while her feet were off the ground, the affidavit stated.
The report stated that Olson flipped her over and picked her up and threw [her] down on the floor five times.
According to the affidavit, the woman pays for everything in the home while [Olson] worries about the country.
She claimed that Olson chased her and told her, to not ruin his reputation.
The woman claimed that Olson was stressed because of politics which makes him drink.
Former local South Dakota news anchor Shad Olson, 52, was accused of assault of an unidentified woman at her home in Rapid City in February 2024
Olson called his girlfriend of eight years a crazy b*** before lifting her off the ground by her throat and throwing her to the floor multiple times, according to the affidavit
She fled to a neighbors house before a deputy arrived, the affidavit said.
Olson was charged with aggravated assault-domestic violence and was later released on a $5,000 bail.
In November of last year, the felony charge against Olson was dismissed for an undisclosed reason.
He continued to face a misdemeanor charge for assault-domestic violence and is scheduled to begin trial on June 5.
Olson was initially offered a plea deal, which he later withdrew from and instead opted for a trial by jury.
The news anchor began his journalism career in 2000 as a news reporter for KOTA Territory News in Rapid city.
In 2010, he was suspended after delivering a speech at a Tax Day rally held by Citizens for Liberty, a local Tea Party Chapter, the New York Post reported.
The move raised concerns for his journalistic ethics, and he ultimately resigned in May that same year.
Two years later he began working with KNBN NewsCenter 1 before he was replaced in the stations prime slot in 2017.