Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Ex-NFL player Zac Stacy arrested at Orlando International Airport after video of abuse goes viral
Ex-NFL player Zac Stacy appeared before a judge Friday morning after he was arrested at Orlando International Airport on charges he beat the mother of his infant son at her home in Oakland last weekend.
Video showing the former running back attacking the woman went viral in recent days after the victim shared it online. Orlando police arrested Stacy after he exited an inbound flight from Nashville and took him to Orange County Jail, said OPD’s Heidi Rodríguez.
In court, his defense attorney said Stacy had flown back to Florida immediately after learning that Oakland police had issued a warrant for his arrest “with the intention of turning himself in.”
However, prosecutors noted that Stacy had left the state “immediately” after the alleged attack. They asked County Judge Andrew Bain to order Stacy to surrender his passport if granted release.
Bain agreed. He set Stacy’s bond at $10,150 on felony charges of aggravated battery and criminal mischief and also ordered him to have no contact with the victim if released and not possess any weapons or firearms.
Stacy spoke only briefly, to confirm he intended to return to Tennessee.
The Oakland Police Department said its officers responded to an emergency call Saturday around 2:30 p.m. and determined “a domestic violence battery had taken place and that the suspect, Zackary Stacy, had fled the scene,” the agency said in a statement.
The Orange County Sheriff ’s Office also tried to locate Stacy, a 30-year-old former running back for Vanderbilt University and later the St. Louis Rams and New York Jets, but “learned he had fled the state,” according to Oakland PD.
When officers arrived, they found the woman sitting on the living room couch with her shirt torn and food in her hair, an affidavit for Stacy’s arrest said.
Oakland police Detective Shawn Dozier wrote in the affidavit that he watched a video captured by the victim’s surveillance system that shows Stacy struck the woman twice, knocking her to the ground, then “picked her up like a ‘rag doll’ and threw her into a 65-inch television.”
The TV fell over on top of the woman, Dozier said, and “she balled up in a defensive manner.”
Footage also shows Stacy grabbing an object and throwing it at the woman’s head, according to Dozier.
“While she was still on the floor, pleading with [Stacy] to stop, he picked her up and body-slammed her down onto the baby walker, causing the object to break as she fell,” Dozier said.
In a public Facebook post, the victim shared multiple video clips of the incident that have since gone viral with the caption: “Vanderbilt’s finest Zac Stacy violent domestic abuse in front of our 5 month old son.”
Records show Stacy filed a paternity suit against his child’s mother in October, claiming his ex had kept the boy away from him since they stopped living together in August. His suit sought a time-sharing agreement for custody and legally establish his parental rights.
The suit remains pending.
Meanwhile, Bain indicated during the hearing the victim had filed for a restraining order against Stacy. Court records related to her petition were not available Friday, but Stacy was ordered to adhere to any related restrictions if released.