Report Alleges Ex-GOP Policy Advisor Strangled Girlfriend

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 01/05/2026) A former policy advisor for the Michigan House Republican Caucus is alleged to have strangled his 34-year-old girlfriend following an argument after a night at the bar, according to a police report.

Andrew James Reed, who served as deputy budget director/policy advisor, appeared intoxicated and had blood on his face and hands when Eaton County sheriff's deputies responded to 2:42 a.m. Nov. 9 domestic assault called in by the girlfriend's father, according to the Eaton County Sheriff's Department report MIRS received via a public records request.

"She remembered being on her back with Andrew straddling her with both of his hands around her throat," the deputy's police report noted, quoting the complainant, whose name is redacted.

"She said that while Andrew was on top of her with both of his hands around her throat, she was having a difficult time breathing," the report continued. "She did not know if she was going to be able to take another breath."

The woman, who had also been drinking, initially told police that she could not remember all the details, noting, "It's a blur." She also initially indicated that she did not want police to be called, but she reconsidered after looking in the mirror and speaking with friends.

The woman told police that she recalled Reed "threw her to the ground, causing her to hit her head prior to him strangling her," and that they argued about why he left her at the bar earlier in the evening.

The police report also indicated that Reed did not know what happened, and he denied there was a physical fight. He told officers that he attended a Michigan State University basketball game earlier in the day before meeting his girlfriend at the bar.

Reed indicated that his girlfriend "pushed him a couple of times," although he did not elaborate, and that she bit his thumb, which caused the blood on his hand.

A second officer noted in a supplemental report that Reed "would not answer my questions truthfully, despite me telling him I did not believe they fell."

The officer noted that while speaking with Reed, he "observed a ball of hair dangling from the front" of his jeans, and the hair appeared to match the girlfriend's.

Reed, who was arraigned on charges of assault with intent to do great bodily harm less than murder and misdemeanor domestic violence, returns to Eaton County District Court Feb. 2 for a probable cause conference.

Efforts to reach Reed and his attorney were not successful.