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Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell was released on bail Tuesday night after being arrested for public exposure and beating a police deputy in Florida.
The 25-year-old was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and exposing his sex organs in public. He was released after his bail was set at $27,000.
Police in Deerfield Beach were called after he wandered naked onto a preschool’s property while on probation for driving drunk and assaulting a cop in 2019.
Video from the arrest on Monday shows the nude 6-foot-6, 295-pound McDowell surrounded by officers in the parking lot of The Learning Experience.
McDowell allegedly punched a deputy ‘with extreme aggression’ after the officer approached the naked Browns player as he sat on a curb, according to a police report obtained by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
His lawyer claimed someone may have drugged the NFL player, after he was freed on bail.
‘Somebody may have slipped him something or given him something that he wasn’t aware of, which explains some of this bizarre behavior,’ Adam Swickle told Local10.com.
‘We’re investigating the circumstances surrounding everything.’
Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell, 25, was released on his $27,000 bail
McDowell left Florida’s Broward County Jail on Tuesday night after his arrest Monday
The NFL player was charged with aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and exposing his sex organs in public
He appeared in court on Tuesday when a judge found probable cause for the charges
The officer report filed by the officer involved in the incident said McDowell ‘stood up, looked at me, and said something to the effect of “f— you.” [McDowell] charged at me … at full speed with closed fist.’
The officer was punched in the right eye and temple area, causing his eye to swell shut and leaving possible permanent injury, according to the affidavit.
He then tried to flee the scene on foot before being tasered and handcuffed.
During Monday’s incident, video shows officers securing McDowell’s legs and arms in shackles before he was placed on a stretcher, covered in a blanket and wheeled away smiling.
McDowell appeared in court on Tuesday and a judge found probable cause for the charges.
At his arraignment, a prosecutor said that ‘there is surveillance video that Mr. McDowell actually went onto the property of the Learning Center while naked’.
Video from the arrest shows the naked 6-foot-6, 295-pound McDowell surrounded by officers in the Deerfield Beach school’s parking lot. He is accused of exposing himself publicly, resisting arrest with violence, and battery on a law enforcement officer
A group of officers stand around the naked McDowell during Monday’s arrest in South Florida
McDowell was reportedly arrested for public exposure and beating a deputy in Florida on Monday after police responded to a report that a man was walking naked near a school
The naked McDowell was loaded onto a stretcher, covered in a blanket and taken away
At various times during the arrest, the 25-year-old McDowell appeared to be smiling
The preschool went into a brief lockdown when teachers saw ‘a gentleman roaming the parking lot without any clothing on,’ according to company spokesperson Nan Zamora.
‘He seemed to be not himself,’ Zamora told Local10.com.
Broward County (Florida) police did not respond to DailyMail.com’s requests for the arrest record.
McDowell, who started 16 games for Cleveland, this past season, is set to become a free agent in March – so his latest arrest could cost him a big financial windfall.
‘We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information,’ a Browns spokesperson said in Tuesday’s statement. ‘We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. We will have no further comment at this time.’
This is not McDowell’s first run-in with the law.
In 2019, McDowell, a Detroit native, ultimately pled guilty to assault, resisting arrest, and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. The former Michigan State standout also admitted to receiving and concealing stolen property after being charged with driving a stolen truck in April of 2019.
He spent 66 days in jail for the 2019 arrest, which became national news after video emerged showing him fighting with several police officers at a gas station in Lathrup Village, Michigan.
McDowell was a highly-touted second-round pick in 2017, but after signing a four-year, $6.95 million contract with Seattle, he got into an ATV accident in 2017. He resurfaced in the NFL in 2021 with the Brows, starting 16 games for Cleveland
In 2017, McDowell was arrested for DUI and disorderly conduct and in 2019, he had a drunken brawl with Michigan police at a gas station in Lathrup Village (pictured)
At one point during his 2019 arrest, the officer took out his taser and pointed it at McDowell, while demanding that he lay down on his chest because he was under arrest
His blood-alcohol level was later revealed to have been more than twice the legal limit.
Not only did McDowell physically confront police, but he also attempted to grab one officer’s gun during the altercation. He was eventually shot with an electric stun gun, but still managed to continue his brawl with police.
McDowell reportedly remains on probation in Michigan, which could result in legal issues for him in that state if he’s convicted in Florida.
Before that, he was arrested in 2017 for DUI and disorderly conduct.
He had been a highly-touted second-round pick in 2017, but after signing a four-year, $6.95 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks, McDowell got into an ATV accident in 2017 and was placed on reserve/did not report list.
Ultimately the team waived him with a non-football injury, costing him millions in the process.
He has previously claimed that head injuries he sustained from the ATV crash have attributed to his criminal behavior.
McDowell pictured following his 2019 arrest for violently resisting officers in Michigan
Source: dailymail
