Former News Anchor Allegedly Assaulted Daughter — Then Posted Online ‘Bad Things Happen in Battle’

Once a familiar face on Bay Area newscasts, Frank Somerville is now facing assault allegations involving his 20-year-old daughter.

The 67-year-old former KTVU anchor was arrested on Monday, Sept. 15, on suspicion of battery causing serious bodily injury, according to jail records reviewed by PEOPLE. The incident reportedly took place at a residence on Arlington Avenue in Oakland, as reported by SFGATE.

In a now-deleted Facebook post shared by the outlet, as well as the San Francisco Chronicle and the Los Angeles Times, Somerville wrote that his daughter, Callie, had come to his home upset about her overdrawn bank account. He said she demanded money, grabbed his phone, and refused to leave.

“I love my daughter more than anything in the world,” the post read. “I would never deliberately try to hurt her. But bad things happen in battle.” He claimed he only acted to restrain her. Callie, however, told authorities that he was the aggressor, according to the outlets.

Somerville was booked into Santa Rita Jail and later released on bail, according to PEOPLE, SFGATE, and the Los Angeles Times.

The Alameda County District Attorney’s Office will now decide whether to file formal charges, per the outlets.

Somerville, who won multiple Emmys during his decades at KTVU, has had public struggles and prior arrests in recent years. These include an on-air slurring incident in 2021 followed by DUI charges, and two arrests in one night in 2023 after a family dispute, according to the outlets.

In his Facebook post, he said he has been sober for nine months and was sober during the incident.

His attorney, Shannan Dugan, told the Chronicle and the Times that the situation is a delicate family matter and expressed hope it could be resolved outside of court.