The arrest warrant for ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown has been recalled and the misdemeanor battery charge has been dropped, according to reports. The woman who made the allegations against Brown met with an assistant state attorney and a victim advocate last week and recanted her story.
Who Is Chelsie Kyriss?
On Nov. 28 Brown and the alleged victim got into a verbal altercation at a South Tampa residence. The dispute, according to cops, allegedly became physical when Brown allegedly threw a shoe at the woman. The woman is believed to be Chelsie Kyriss, Brown’s on-again, off-again fianceé and the mother of three of his children.
When the police arrived to try and serve Brown the warrant he was locked inside the house. Apparently, it is not uncommon for police to leave the scene if they are unable to serve the warrant or see the individual they are trying to contact. This is to not allow for situations to escalate.
Legal expert Anthony Rickman, a Tampa attorney and analyst said this practice is not uncommon if police don’t want to escalate things.
“That allegation really, from what we see now, is not supported by video evidence, recording evidence, evidence of injury on the alleged victim,” Rickman said. “We’re assuming that law enforcement thinks that he’s in the house. But if he’s not seen in a window, you know, seen in the doorway, they don’t have evidence suggesting or establishing that he’s in the house. They can’t just go breaking down the doors.”
Police had been trying to apprehend Brown the last two weeks, and he was believed to be inside his home. But they weren’t certain.
Tampa PD– there have been multiple 'attempts to take Antonio Brown into custody' but there is *not an ongoing standoff.* Police say he's "not communicating," not sure if he's even in home at this point, but do not want to risk officer safety over misdemeanor charge @NBCNews
— Sam Brock (@SamBrockNBC) December 1, 2022
Why Can’t Antonio Brown Be Arrested At His Home On Warrant?
This is a wild story. Brown had an active arrest warrant on him for weeks, authorities thought they know where he was, but they chose not to enter the home and potentially risk officer safety over a misdemeanor charge.
Either way it was all for naught as the charges were dropped. What a waste of resources for the community of Tampa.
There was a chance that the states attorney could’ve still followed through with the case as they did not have to honor Kyriss’ wishes. But ultimately they didn’t have enough evidence to move forward.
All possible and available evidence was reviewed, but they “could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt a battery took place.”
Why do victims change their minds about pressing charges?
Victims in domestic violence cases often ask that charges be dropped for a variety of reasons.
“It does happen frequently unfortunately and it happens for a variety of reasons,” Mindy Murphy, the President and CEO of the Spring of Tampa Bay said. “Fear is the number one reason — probably love is the second, but they are also saying things to the victim. The abuser is saying things to the victim, ‘you can’t do this, you’re putting the father of your kids in jail and this will be your fault.'”
Brown has been exhibiting concerning and erratic behavior for years. It is clear he needs some type of help, but does he even acknowledge that there is a problem?
For the sake of everyone involved, most importantly the children, as they didn’t ask for any of this; they were born into this unfortunate circumstance. Hopefully cooler heads prevail, the alleged victim has her opportunity to heal emotionally, physically and feel safe, Brown is able to receive the treatment he needs, and the children have a stable environment to call home.
