CINCINNATI -- The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department released on Wednesday video showing Bengals cornerback Adam Jones on the night of his Jan. 3 arrest, including the moment that almost netted him a felony charge.
Jones was arrested that night after reports of a confrontation with a security guard at the Millennium Hotel Downtown; a dashboard camera inside the vehicle that arrived to collect him captured Jones unleashing a torrent of verbal abuse on the arresting officer.
The security footage released by the Sheriff’s Department shows the moments that became additional charges for Jones -- first when he lunged at a group of Cincinnati police officers (at about 00:30 in the video below) and then when he was reported to have spat on a nurse during intake (at about 4:30).
Watch the video (which has no sound) below:
The video doesn’t show the reported spitting because an officer walks in front of Jones at the moment the incident is thought to have occurred. Although the reported action itself isn’t visible, the officers around Jones rush to restrain him and put a surgical-style mask over his mouth after he makes a sudden movement in the nurse’s direction.
Jones could have faced a felony assault charge for spitting on the woman, but Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said Wednesday that he would not press such a charge against the player.
“My focus was making sure that we treated him exactly like we treat anybody else in these circumstances,” Deters said. "He was just a drunken idiot. He was. And people make mistakes all the time.”
Jones instead earned misdemeanor counts of assault, disorderly conduct and obstructing official business. He has also entered alcohol and anger management-related treatment since the arrest.
The nurse has been pursuing a lawsuit, according to Deters, adding another reason he wouldn't prosecute the felony count.
"People tend to use my office as a bill collection agency -- they threaten prosecution, but they want money," Deters said. "If they go down the civil path, we don’t pursue criminal charges. It happens all the time."
