Former 49er Sherman arrested.
Former 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman was arrested early Wednesday morning in suburban Seattle for allegedly trying to break into a family member’s home after driving drunk, crashing his car and fleeing on foot, according to authorities and court records.
Sherman, currently a free agent, was booked into King County Correctional Facility in Seattle at 6:08 a.m. Wednesday morning on suspicion of burglary with a domestic violence component, resisting arrest and malicious mischief, Redmond (Washington) police said. The domestic component was added because the home belongs to his in-laws, not because of any violence by Sherman against a significant other, police clarified.
He was denied bail, court records show. The case was filed in the King County court system as an “extreme risk protection order” and Sherman is expected to remain in custody until a court date this afternoon.
Washington State troopers say they also suspect Sherman of driving under the influence and of hit-and-run. No charges
have been filed, and an investigation is still ongoing.
The incident began when Sherman crashed his car into a construction site on a highway in Redmond, a spokesperson for Washington State Patrol told this news organization. The single-car crash occurred just before 1 a.m., trooper Rick Johnson said. Sherman attempted to drive away but eventually fled on foot, Johnson said.
At about 2 a.m., Redmond police received a 911 call about a man trying to enter a family member’s home. Washington State Patrol officers also responded to the scene after running the plates of the car and matching the description of the suspect in the 911 call to Sherman, who was the registered owner.
Authorities said they discovered Sherman outside the home and arrested him. Redmond police chief Darrell Lowe told reporters Sherman “physically resisted officers’ efforts to take him into custody” and officers used a police dog during the arrest. Sherman was taken to a local hospital before being booked into jail. Johnson, the state trooper, said officers took a blood sample on suspicion of driving under the influence. Results of the test are still pending. Redmond police said one officer suffered minor injuries in the altercation.
Sherman, 33, keeps a home in the Seattle area with his wife, Ashley Moss whom he married in 2018, and their two children.
“He didn’t harm anybody. My kids were not harmed in the incident,” Moss told The Seattle Times. “He’s a good person and this is not his character. We’re doing all right, just trying to get him out. I want people to know no one was injured.”
The 49ers declined to comment on the matter.
The NFL Players Association, with whom Sherman has been a player representative since 2014, said in a statement that it had “activated our domestic violence crisis protocol for the protection and support of everyone involved” and that “we will continue to monitor events closely as more facts are made available to us.”
Sherman is a vice president of the NFLPA and one of 11 players on its executive committee.
Sherman was a defensive captain for the 49ers the past three seasons and a Pro Bowler in 2019 on the 49ers’ NFC championship team before missing most of last season with a calf injury. He arrived in San Francisco after spending the first seven years of his career with the Seattle Seahawks, where he earned three first-team All-Pro selections and won a Super Bowl.
As a free agent representing himself in contract negotiations, Sherman has been linked to both his former teams this offseason, along with the Dallas Cowboys and New Orleans Saints.