CARDINAL SIN
Cops: Dwyer head-butted wife, threw shoe at 17-month-old son
PHOENIX — Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer headbutted his wife and broke her nose after she refused his sexual advances, and punched her in the face the next day, police said Thursday. The details surfaced in a law enforcement report a day after Dwyer was arrested on aggravated assault charges and deactivated from all team activities after he was taken into custody at the Cardinals’ practice facility and headquarters in Tempe, Ariz. He spent a night in jail and made a brief court appearance before being released on a $25,000 bond early Thursday.
The Cardinals placed Dwyer on the reserve/nonfootball illness list, meaning he can’t play for the team again this season.
The NFL has said the Dwyer case will be reviewed under the league’s personalconduct policy.
A person with knowledge of the situation said Dwyer was undergoing mental evaluation because of mentions of suicide referred to in police documents. The person asked to remain anonymous because the team had not made the reason for the illness designation public.
Cardinals coach Bruce Arians said Dwyer expressed shock at the arrest and insisted he was innocent.
“We’ll allow the court system to take care of what is true and what isn’t,” Arians said. “Up until then, until he’s exonerated, he will not be a member of this football team. If and when he is exonerated, I will gladly take him back.”
Dwyer was arrested Wednesday for investigation in two altercations that occurred on July 21 and 22 at his Phoenix residence, just days before the Cardinals reported to training camp. His wife left the state after the incidents, but came forward a week ago after Dwyer apparently sent suicidal text messages including a photo of a knife.
In the first encounter, police say Dwyer attempted to kiss and undress his wife, but she refused. Someone who heard the argument reported the assault to police, who showed up at the apartment but did not make an arrest. Dwyer hid in a bathroom and the wife said she hadn’t been assaulted and denied he was in the home because the running back threatened to kill himself in front of her and their child if she told police about the assault, police said.
The next day, Dwyer punched his wife with a closed fist on the left side of her face, according to police. He also punched walls and threw a shoe at his 17monthold son, who was not injured, police said.
As his wife tried to call police, Dwyer grabbed her cell phone and threw it down from the home’s second story. Witnesses told police that Dwyer’s wife said, “I’m calling the police” as she held her swollen face and clutched her son.
Dwyer’s agent, Adisa Bakari, didn’t return telephone messages seeking comment. Messages left for Jared Allen, an attorney representing Dwyer, weren’t immediately returned.