Usually when Bengals safetyAdam "Pacman" Jones is getting detained, there's a legitimate reason. This time, however, it was the police that were in the wrong.
According to witnesses, Jones was leaving Great American Ballpark, after the Bengals lost to Tampa Bay 24 to 21. In an effort to avoid an accident already on the road, Jones swerved his Jaguar on to the sidewalk and got out to help a woman who fell trying to avoid his car.
When police arrived, they questioned him, ran his info, put him in handcuffs and sat him on the curb. Jones had no idea why he was being detained, but officers said that they got him mixed up with someone who had warrants. Once the police realized their mistake, they released him, but it was too late, the damage was done. Photos of Jones handcuffed on the sidewalk popped up all over the Internet with sports fans everywhere giving a collective sigh.
Cincinnati police chief Tom Streicher apologized at a news conference:
"Quite honestly, there was a mistake on the part of the police department here," Streicher said in a news conference on Monday according to the Cincinnati Enquirer. "I just want to be emphatic about this: Mr. Jones did absolutely nothing wrong."
Jones' agent, Thomas Hunter, said that they're glad that the police admitted their mistake; they were considering legal action:
"He does want the truth to be known that he did absolutely nothing wrong," Hunter said of Jones. "You take their civil liberties away from them by putting them in handcuffs when there is no legitimate reason."
Jones has yet to speak publicly about the incident, but it's probably best to move on.
28-Sep-10 - Trying to get various black public figures to speak out for or against Bishop Eddie Long has been harder than getting 4-year-olds to go to the dentist. No one is talking, but everyone is paying attention.
27-Sep-10 - Jessica Moore, 19, was hanging out at an off-campus frat party Saturday, when a man who was angry about not getting in to the party, came back with a gun and started shooting. Moore was shot in the head.
23-Sep-10 - Some really "interesting" pictures of Bishop Eddie Long, which were allegedly sent by Long to one of his "spiritual sons," were made public last week.
