Zachery Ty Bryan, best known for playing oldest son Brad on the popular Tim Allen-fronted sitcom Home Improvement, was arrested this weekend by police in Eugene, Oregon after a violent altercation with his girlfriend. He was later charged with strangulation, assault in the fourth degree and interfering with making a police report.
The specifics are still a little unclear on what exactly happened, but police did give an account from their perspective to E! News. In short, neighbors called the police on Friday evening after reportedly overhearing a physical dispute. Officers arrived a little before 10:30 PM to find Zachery Ty Bryan, who is now 39-years-old, sitting outside. His unidentified 27-year-old girlfriend was at a neighboring apartment. She reportedly declined medical attention, but after a brief investigation, Bryan was taken into custody for allegedly “impeding” the victim’s breathing and taking her phone when she tried to report the incident.
No one involved in the altercation has commented publicly or spoken on the record, but Bryan reportedly did post to his Instagram just hours before the alleged assault. According to Outsider, he dropped a since deleted photo onto Instagram that showed him out at a club with four women. The caption reportedly said “Good Night”, along with an emoji sticking its tongue out. You could also reportedly see a bottle of vodka and some Red Bulls on the table.
Zachery Ty Bryan played Brad Taylor on Home Improvement from 1991 to 1998. He appeared in over 200 episodes of the sitcom, which is still very well-remembered. His character was best known for having ridiculous haircuts and being a bit of a troublemaker. He continued to act for more than a decade after the popular show ended, but it was mostly in smaller roles or through one or two episode guest appearances on various TV shows. In more recent years, he has turned to producing and is listed as an executive producer on the upcoming Sci-Fi thriller Warning, which stars Alice Eve, Alex Pettyfer, Thomas Jane, Annabelle Wallis, Kylie Bunbury and Rupert Everett. Like a lot of projects, it doesn’t yet have a release date.
It has been quite a period of upheaval in Bryan’s life. At the beginning of October, he announced he was separating from his wife of 14 years, Carly Matros. The couple had four children and were together since high school. She is not thought to be have been involved in this domestic disturbance in any way. At the time of the separation, neither offered any public details as to why the marriage deteriorated. His social media post merely said they were going to “move on” from their marriage but remain co-parents.
Bryan was still in jail as of Saturday, but there’s not any word on his current location. His Instagram photos have been taken down, and there hasn’t been any official communication from his attorney.
