FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (January 2, 2020) — One of the Miami Dolphin’s star defenders spent Sunday night in the Broward County jail after police booked him on allegations of domestic violence charges. Davie police said that the football star and his fiancée engaged in an argument about buying a purse. The football player, who missed most of this past season due to a knee injury, initially went to a local emergency room seeking treatment and then was released to law enforcement officers who took him to jail. The player’s bond was set at $3,000.00, according to the Post-Gazette. The Dolphins have not decided the player’s future with the team. *
The Davie police narrative indicated that the incident took place in the couple’s bedroom in their Davie home. The argument allegedly became physical when the football player grabbed the woman’s arm, and then he pushed her into a mirror. The player let her arm go and she fell on her right arm and she landed on the player’s crutches. The player said he was hurt in the fray and went to the hospital for treatment. He was not admitted to the hospital. Once released, the player was taken to jail.
In addition to the criminal charges the player faces, there are also career consequences he might face from the National Football League. The player faces supplemental discipline from the league and could be suspected even if he is not convicted in a Broward County courtroom. He stands to lose a lot amount of money if he is suspended. The Dolphins signed the player to a $76.5 million deal with $46 million of the contract guaranteed. The player is the highest-paid at his position in the NFL.
Domestic Battery Charges In Florida
Domestic battery in Florida is the unlawful or unwanted touching of a person who lives in the same household and is not related by blood or is a family member. The prosecutor has the burden to prove the accused guilty beyond a reasonable doubt that an unconsented-to touching occurred or the accused intentionally caused bodily harm to another. The government must further prove that the alleged victim was a family member or a household member.
A family or household member in Florida is anyone of the rolling under Florida Statutes §741.28:
- Spouses,
- Ex-spouses,
- Anyone living together in a dwelling which is related by blood or marriage,
- Anyone living together who lives together as if a family,
- Individuals who lived together previously as a family, and
- Individuals who have a child together.
To qualify by law as a family or household member, the people involved must live together currently or have lived together as a family unit, unless the two share a child.
Domestic battery is defined as a first-degree misdemeanor in Florida. First-degree misdemeanors carry the possibility of one year in jail. Additionally, any person adjudicated guilty of the domestic battery must complete the 26-week batterers’ program, twelve months of probation, five days in jail if the defendant is adjudicated guilty and bodily injury occurred, community server, the imposition of no-contact orders or domestic violence injunction. Additionally, a person accused of domestic battery could forfeit his or her rights to concealed weapons carrying Florida.