U.S. Olympic sprinter Fred Kerley was arrested Thursday in Miami Beach and shot with a Taser by police, body camera footage shows.
Kerley was then charged in a separate incident from last year.
According to police, via WSVN in Miami, the Olympic athlete approached the scene of an active investigation on Thursday and said he had parked his car nearby.
But when they asked him to leave the area, he refused, became agitated and got into a fighting position, police said.
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Fred Kerley of the USA celebrates after winning bronze in the men’s 100 meters final during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at the Stade de France. (Yukihito Taguchi/USA Today Sports)
A confrontation ensued and Kerley was arrested. Body camera footage captured Kerley being Tasered by an officer, while a bystander pleaded with the officers to “stop” because “he didn’t do anything.”
Kerley faces charges of assault on a police officer, correctional officer or firefighter; resisting an officer without violence; and disorderly conduct. He was released on his own recognizance.
However, the Miami-Dade County Jail website later reported that he was back in custody on charges of domestic violence, strangulation and robbery.
Fred Kerley (USA) in a men’s 100 meters round 1 during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at the Stade de France. (Andrew Nelles/USA Today Sports)
According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Pak Gazette Digital, Kerley and his wife got into a verbal and then physical dispute in May on his birthday when Kerley’s wife was in contact with an “unknown person on Instagram.”
Kerley aggressively approached his wife and she hit him out of fear, according to the affidavit. Kerley then “grabbed the victim, pushed her to the ground, put her arm around her neck and prevented her from breathing.”
The affidavit says Kerley then stole his wife’s cell phone after applying a second chokehold. Kerley was not present when authorities arrived and witnesses were uncooperative.
A probable cause alert was then entered into the jail system and he was charged after his arrest Thursday night.
Kerley won a bronze medal in Paris this summer in the 100 meters, while teammate Noah Lyles earned his first Olympic gold. Kerley won the 2022 world championship in this event and silver at the Tokyo Olympics.
He also has world championships in the 4×400 meter relay in 2019 and the 4×100 meter relay in 2023.
Kerley was part of the 4×100 meters team in Paris that was disqualified due to a botched handover. Lyles planned to be part of that team, but he fell ill with COVID earlier in the week, which contributed to him falling short in the 200 meters, an event in which he was the heavy favorite.
Fred Kerley (USA) reacts after competing in a men’s 100 meters semi-final during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics at the Stade de France. (Yukihito Taguchi/USA Today Sports)
Kerley accused the United States Track and Field Association of playing favorites in adding Lyles to the 4×400-meter team at the 2024 world championships.
