Former Seattle Seahawks player Richard Sherman has been officially charged with five different misdemeanors following an early morning incident outside his in-laws’ house earlier this week.
Sherman allegedly wrecked his vehicle on the side of a concrete freeway barrier before leaving the scene of the crash on foot. He then allegedly tried to force entry into his spouse’s parents’ house in Redmond before the police were called on him.
Police reports indicate that Sherman was initially cordial as he spoke with responding officers, but then the situation escalated as officers decided to initiate an arrest. An officer eventually had to tackle Sherman and a K-9 unit was used to help subdue him.
Police reports read that Sherman was “polite” and “cooperative” once he was detained and brought to the hospital, reportedly even joking with the officers about the “merits” of his takedown.
Officers were able to obtain a warrant to test Sherman’s blood at the hospital under suspicion of intoxication. Police reports claim officers could smell the “obvious odor of intoxicants.”
After about a day of uncertainty regarding Sherman’s charges, the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed five misdemeanor charges against him Friday, July 16.
Sherman has been charged with driving while under the influence, reckless endangerment of roadway workers, resisting arrest, criminal trespassing domestic violence, and malicious mischief domestic violence.
Redmond police have maintained that the “domestic violence” tags on the criminal trespassing and malicious mischief charges are due to the fact that the charges involve family members, and not that he was directly violent toward them.
“I am deeply remorseful for my actions on Tuesday night. I behaved in a manner I am not proud of,” Sherman wrote in a statement on his Twitter account. “I have been dealing with some personal challenges over the last several months, but that is not an excuse for how I acted. The importance of mental and emotional health is extremely real and I vow to get the help I need.”
Sherman has no criminal history.
Sherman’s arraignment is at 2 p.m. July 16.
