OCEANSIDE -- An Oceanside police lieutenant denies allegations that he choked and violently dragged his ex-girlfriend at his Carlsbad home, his attorney said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Lt. Shawn Murray, the 18-year Oceanside Police Department veteran who was arrested early Monday on suspicion of domestic violence, has been removed from the field and assigned desk work, department spokesman Sgt. Kelan Poorman said. The outcome of the criminal investigation and court proceedings will determine the department's next step, he said.

Murray headed the department's field operations, which include its traffic division, school resource officers, neighborhood police officers and patrol units in the city's downtown and beaches, Poorman said.

Carlsbad officers arrested Murray at his home in the 3500 block of Flat Rock Street early Monday after his ex-girlfriend called police during an argument, Lt. Kelly Cain said.

She told officers that Murray had choked her until her neck was red and sore, pushed her down and dragged her through the house by the pants and one arm, Cain said. Murray did not give a statement at the scene.

Kerry Armstrong, Murray's attorney, said Tuesday that Murray denied the violent acts and instead recounted a mutual skirmish caused by his trespassing ex-girlfriend.

"She wouldn't leave; he wanted her to leave, but as far as choking or dragging, there was none of that," Armstrong said.

Armstrong said the pair had dated for several years and that the woman was upset because Murray had started seeing someone else. She showed up at his house Monday and refused to leave, the lawyer said.

There was "force both ways," on the scale of pushing and shoving, with the woman ending up outside, he said.

Murray said the woman then tried to break into his truck, looking for evidence of his new relationship, Armstrong said.

The lawyer said he hopes the district attorney's office will not file criminal charges against his client, and that e-mails and text messages will show that Murray's ex-girlfriend had been stalking him for weeks.

"She made several comments to him that made it sound like she was watching his house, what time his lights went off, things like that," Armstrong said.

Murray made news nearly a year ago, when he filed a claim with the city accusing the mayor and police chief of illegally denying him a promotion and trying to run him out of the department. He is seeking a promotion to captain, back pay, benefits and other monetary damages.

An administrative hearing on the claim is nearly complete, and a mediator is expected to make a recommendation to the Oceanside City Council by the end of September, Murray's attorney for the claim, Donovan Jacobs, said Tuesday

Contact staff writer Sarah Gordon at (760) 740-3517 or sgordon@nctimes.com.