Prosecutors in Broward County, Florida, will not pursue charges against Miami Dolphins assistant coach Ryan Crow, who was arrested and accused of battering his girlfriend in August.
Crow, 37, has been on indefinite leave from his role as outside linebackers coach for the Dolphins after being arrested on Aug. 28 on one count of misdemeanor domestic battery after an argument with his live-in girlfriend, during which he allegedly shoved her, tried to
slap her and appeared to lift her off the ground, according to an arrest report and statements from witnesses contained in a prosecutor's memo.
In a closeout memo Wednesday, prosecutors wrote that the victim was uncooperative in the case and was adamant about not wanting charges filed. Prosecutors added they could not pursue the case without cooperation from the victim, because neither the witness accounts nor video surveillance clearly established that a battery occurred.
“Although the witnesses interpreted the victim’s need for help based upon their observations, the victim never said anything to them,” the memo said, “and these facts would not meet the legal threshold required for any of the witnesses to be permitted to testify in a court of law as to the victim’s state of mind.”
The altercation stemmed from an argument between the pair after returning home from a Dolphins’ work party. When the woman spoke with police that night, she told them that Crow had pushed her down stairs. Crow denied touching her when he spoke to police, stating their argument was only verbal, the memo said.
Police also spoke with three witnesses and reviewed police reports, body-camera videos and video surveillance from the building.
"They found that there’s no reasonable likelihood of conviction," Crow’s lawyer, Michael Gottlieb, told The Associated Press. "I’m glad that coach Crow is being exonerated and that the charges are being dropped.”
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Wednesday that there would be no immediate change in Crow's status with the team.
“We won’t even bridge that until the league is done with their process,” McDaniel said.
Crow is in his second season coaching Miami's outside linebackers. He held the same position with the Tennessee Titans the three prior years. Defensive assistant Sean Ryan has led the unit in his place.
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