Maxwell faces assault charge over gun arrest
A’s catcher Bruce Maxwell was arrested in Arizona on Saturday night for allegedly pointing a gun at a female food-delivery worker.
Maxwell, 26, was booked by Scottsdale police on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and disorderly conduct.
Police said they visited Maxwell’s house after receiving a call about someone with a gun. He was arrested at 6:08 p.m., held in custody and is awaiting an appearance in front of a judge.
The A’s released a statement Sunday, saying, “We were disappointed to learn of the allegations. We take this situation and ongoing investigation seriously. We are gathering information from the proper authorities and do not have further comment at this time.”
Maxwell did not respond to a request for comment.
Maxwell, raised in Alabama in a military family, was the first big-leaguer to kneel during the national anthem. He was protesting, in his words, “a racial divide that’s being practiced from the highest power we have in this country saying it’s basically OK to treat people differently” and added it’s a “bigger purpose than the baseball field and the uniform I wear and the sport I play.”
Last week, Maxwell told TMZ that while in Huntsville, Ala., he was refused service by a waiter who recognized him as the ballplayer who knelt during the anthem.
According to Maxwell, who was dining with a friend who’s a local councilman, the waiter said he was a supporter of President Trump and what the president stands for; the councilman complained, and they got a different server.
The restaurant manager said Maxwell’s account was wrong and that the dispute was over a person in Maxwell’s party who didn’t have identification to buy alcohol. Maxwell stood by his story. A rookie this season, Maxwell hit .237 in 77 games. He’s in line to be the No. 1 catcher in 2018.
Two weeks ago, Maxwell went to Santa Rosa to visit with public officials, firefighters and children, and made another trip to meet with a 9-year-old A’s fan who had written a letter to the team explaining he lost all his A’s memorabilia when his family’s Santa Rosa home burned. The A’s furnished the boy with memorabilia and gear.