Dallas man sentenced to 8 years for attempted murder of girlfriend

A Dallas man was sentenced to more than eight years for attempting to murder his partner by strangling her in August with a dog leash, the Polk County District Attorney's Office said Friday.

Travis Bryant, 46, was sentenced Oct. 3 after a 12-person jury deliberated for less than an hour before finding him guilty of attempted murder, assault, strangulation, assaulting a public safety officer, and resisting arrest. Bryant also pled guilty to witness tampering.

According to court documents, Bryant was arrested Aug. 16 after Salem Police responded to a 911 hang-up near Wallace Marine Park.

An officer approached Bryant as he exited a van parked in a storage unit on Musgrave Street. The officer asked Bryant if he called 911 and he replied "in a very agitated and upset tone" that he was "frustrated" with his girlfriend over her reaction to a friend of Bryant's drowning in the Willamette River , according to court documents. The officer noted that Bryant walked away, "continually yelling about police not caring about his friend."

Another officer spoke to Bryant's girlfriend, according to the document, and noticed "red ligature marks" on her neck. She said Bryant was upset about his friend's death and had "another personality take over" and he began strangling her and saying he was going to kill her, according to the document.

The officers reported that Bryant became violent when they attempted to arrest him, trying to kick, punch and grab the officers.

The case was investigated by Salem Police.

Isabel Funk covers breaking news and public safety for the Statesman Journal. Funk can be reached at ifunk@statesmanjournal.com or on X at @isabeldfunk

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Dallas man sentenced to 8 years for attempted murder of girlfriend