Malcolm Butler arrested for drunk driving in Rhode Island, allegedly told police "just take me to jail"
NORTH PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Malcolm Butler, the former New England Patriots cornerback and Super Bowl hero, was arrested earlier this month for drunk driving, police in North Providence, Rhode Island revealed Tuesday.
Malcolm Butler arrest report
According to the police report obtained by WBZ-TV, Butler was arrested back on Saturday, March 16. A patrolman said he saw a white Mercedes Benz stopped and blocking traffic on Mineral Spring Avenue, just after 3 a.m.
The officer spoke with the driver, later identified as Butler, who said he was coming from a studio in Providence. The patrolman said he noticed a "strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from his breath." According to the police report, Butler was also "sweating profusely" and had "extremely slurred and delayed speech along with severely bloodshot watery eyes."
"Just take me to jail"
When the officer asked Butler if he had been drinking, the former Patriot allegedly replied, "just take me to jail." Butler allegedly refused field sobriety tests and was arrested. His car was towed away. He later refused to take a breathalyzer test at the police station, the report said.
Butler, 34, of Missouri City, Texas, was charged with driving drunk and issued a summons to appear in court on Thursday, March 28.
Butler's attorney, former Rhode Island House Speaker John Harwood, told WPRI-TV in Providence that he filed a motion to dismiss or suppress the charge, arguing Butler said his Fourth, Fifth, Sixth and 14th Amendment rights under the Constitution "were violated."
"I think when they stopped him he wasn't driving," Harwood told the station. "He was off the road, and that he wasn't driving tells me at least he was being responsible."
Malcolm Butler's NFL career
He played seven seasons in the NFL, four of them with the Patriots, and officially announced his retirement on March 10, six days before his arrest.
Butler broke into the league with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2014 and went on to make the historic game-saving interception against the Seattle Seahawks to win Super Bowl XLIX.
Butler last played for the Tennessee Titans in 2020, after signing a big free-agent deal following the 2017 season. He signed with Arizona in 2021 but retired at the end of the preseason. He came out of retirement in 2023 to re-sign with the Patriots, but he got hurt during the summer and was released.
