Menacing charge against Bengals’ Mixon is dismissed
Bengals running back Joe Mixon no longer faces a misdemeanor charge of aggravated menacing over allegations that he threatened and pointed a gun at a woman in Cincinnati.
A Friday order dismissing the case in Hamilton County Municipal Court said only that the city prosecutor’s office requested the dismissal “in the interest of justice.”
A warrant for Mixon was issued Thursday. A police officer’s accompanying affidavit alleged that the 26-year-old pointed a firearm and told the victim: “You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you, the police (can’t) get me.”
It said the altercation happened a few blocks from the Bengals’ stadium on Jan. 21 — the day before Cincinnati beat the Buffalo Bills in a divisional-round playoff game — but included no other details about the circumstances.
“I really feel that police have an obligation before they file charges — because of the damage that can be done to the person’s reputation — to do their work,” said Mixon’s agent, Peter Schaffer.
A statement from the Bengals said the team was investigating the situation and not commenting further on the charge or its dismissal.
Mixon was a second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2017. Several teams said they passed on him because of concerns about his character after Mixon punched a female
Oklahoma student in the face in 2014.
He was suspended from the football team for a year and entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction. He received a deferred sentence and was ordered to perform community service and undergo counseling.
n BRONCOS: The Denver Broncos officially named Sean Payton the 20th head coach in franchise history Friday, 40 days after firing rookie head coach Nathaniel Hackett.
The Broncos reached an agreement earlier this week to compensate the New Orleans Saints, who had Payton under contract for two more years.
A person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Saints would receive the Broncos’ first-round selection, No. 29 overall, in this year’s draft and a 2022 second-rounder and the Broncos would receive New Orleans’ third-round selection next year.
Payton, 59, will be formally introduced Monday at team headquarters. He has already been busy interviewing candidates for his coaching staff.
Payton, who worked in broadcasting this season after stepping down from the Saints when Drew Brees retired, went 152-89 in 15 seasons with New Orleans and 9-8 in the playoffs. He led the Saints to a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl following the 2009 season.