UPDATE: Richard Sherman Arrested For Domestic Violence Burglary; May Also Face DUI, Hit-and-Run Charges
SEATTLE (CBS SF) -- Richard Sherman, the star NFL cornerback who last played with the San Francisco 49ers, was arrested and jailed early Wednesday morning for domestic violence burglary. Sherman may also face charges in a solo vehicle crash just before the alleged incident.
ESPN's Adam Schefter broke the news on Twitter that the free agent was in jail.
Sherman was arrested in Redmond, a suburb outside of Seattle where his in-laws live, the Redmond Police Department said. (Sherman and his family live in Maple Valley, another Seattle Suburb.) According to a press release, officers were called to a home for a reported in-progress burglary and found Sherman trying to force entry into the home of his in-laws.
KIRO Radio in Seattle aired the 911 call made by his wife. During the call she says Sherman was acting erratically and threatening suicide.
KIRO in Seattle has just aired the Richard Sherman 911 call. pic.twitter.com/adlBo0i2Z6
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) July 14, 2021
Police said Sherman attempted to walk away and fought with officers while being taken into custody, resulting in responding officers using a police dog to subdue him. Redmond Police Chief Darrell Lowe later said that both Sherman and the arresting officer were injured by the dog in the exchange.
Per Lowe, Sherman has a laceration on his lower leg/ankle as a result of a K-9 deployment. Lowe said a Redmond PD officer and a State Trooper — who was assisting in the arrest — also received minor injuries from the altercation.
— Brady Henderson (@BradyHenderson) July 14, 2021
Earlier, police said Sherman was involved in a hit-and-run involving a solo vehicle, with Sherman leaving his severely damaged vehicle and fleeing on foot after striking a cement barrier on a SR 520 off-ramp.
Matt Barrows of The Athletic reported that Sherman is facing DUI and hit-and-run charges in the crash.
After investigating a single-vehicle crash near a construction zone early this morning, Washington State Police are recommending additional charges of DUI and hit and run against Richard Sherman, per a police spokesman. Both are misdemeanors.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) July 14, 2021
Sherman was taken to a local hospital and later cleared and booked into the King County Correctional Facility, police said. Bail was denied but police said that is standard procedure for suspects of domestic violence until they can appear before a judge.
No one else was injured.
Domestic Violence Burglary is a special charge in King County where "offender is usually accused of entering or refusing to leave a house, business, vehicle or other dwelling. In first degree offenses, they are also accused of committing an act of violence or carrying a deadly weapon such as a knife or firearm," according to domesticviolenceseattle.com.
According to NBC Sports reporter Joe Fann, King County is saying it is investigating the incident as a possible felony. Officers also arrested him on suspicion of malicious mischief in regards to the damage to his in-laws' door.
In King County, the law requires police officers to arrest the suspect in domestic violence cases.
Sherman is a vice president of the NFL Players Association. In a statement, the NFLPA said, "We were made aware of an arrest last night of one of our player leaders for an alleged domestic violence incident and have activated our domestic violence crisis protocol for the protection and support of everyone involved. We will continue to monitor events closely as more facts are made available to us."
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) July 14, 2021
Sherman, 33, married Ashley Moss in 2018. The couple have two children together and Moss helped Sherman negotiate his contract with the 49ers the same year they married.
Talking to the Seattle Times, Ashley Sherman said "He didn't harm anybody. My kids were not harmed in the incident. He's a good person and this is not his character. We're doing all right, just trying to get him out. I want people to know no one was injured."
After playing cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers for three years, Sherman is a free agent. He played for the Seattle Seahawks for six years, including their 2014 Super Bowl win, and before then he played for Stanford University from 2006-2011.