DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - An NFL player has been released from jail a day after he was arrested following a bizarre encounter with Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies.
Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell walked out of the Broward County Jail, Tuesday night, offering no explanation.
The 25-year-old was arrested Monday, after he was spotted walking naked down a street in Deerfield Beach.
Lying in the middle of the street, the suspect walked toward Broward County deputies, still unclothed, then slammed into a deputy full force.
The inexplicable episode ended with McDowell, who stands 6 feet, 6 inches tall, taken down by a group of deputies and wheeled away on a gurney.
The next day, he stood before a judge to face his charges.
Reggie Wynns, a family friend who has known McDowell since he was a child, said the person on the video isn’t who he met all those years ago.
“Never was a troublemaker, never got in trouble in high school. He’s always been a great kid,” said Wynns.
It’s not his first run-in with the law. A surveillance video from 2019 shows an altercation with police after he was pulled over for reckless driving near Detroit, Michigan.
The traffic stop culminated in a violent scuffle inside the store, with McDowell lunging toward the officer even after being shocked with a Taser.
Wynns said McDowell was involved in an ATV accident in 2017 and hasn’t been the same since.
“When he had the accident, it just changed him. He was a different kid,” said Wynns.
An hour before the Deerfield Beach incident, McDowell was seen hugging someone inside a gym.
It is difficult to imagine what could have caused such a turnaround in such a short amount of time, but McDowell’s attorney said it is possible he was drugged.
His client faces three charges: battery of an officer, resisting arrest and one more charge for being naked.
A spokesperson for the Cleveland Browns said they are aware of his arrest, and their thoughts are with all involved.
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