Sprinter Fred Kerley was arrested after an altercation with South Florida police that ended with the two-time Olympic medalist hit with a stun gun, officials said Friday.
Kerley, 29, was speaking with officers at 11:22 p.m. on Thursday near 100 9th St. “about his vehicle parked nearby” when his “demeanor became increasingly aggressive,” according to a statement by Miami Beach police.
After Kerley was “asked to leave the area,” he refused and “assumed a fighting stance,” police continued. When officers tried to arrest Kerley, he allegedly resisted and “a dart-firing stun gun was effectively deployed,” police said.
In 7 ½ minutes of body-camera video released by police, Kerley is seen in a gray hoodie standing next to a police vehicle talking to officers. It’s unclear what is being said as there’s no audio in the first 30 seconds of video.
The person wearing the camera approaches Kerley and places their hand on Kerley’s chest and then his wrist, touching off the scuffle.
At least four officers appear to struggle with Kerley as they try to restrain him, footage showed.
Finally, one of the officers pulls out a stun gun with a distinctive yellow handle and fires into Kerley’s back, bringing him down instantly.
“I’m not resisting, I got handcuffs on!” Kerley said.
Throughout the video, he accused officers of wrongdoing and told them they’d be going to jail.
Kerley didn’t obviously or immediately identify himself as an Olympic sprinter. But at one point he told arresting officers: “Bro get off my legs, I need my f—ing legs.”
Kerley was booked into custody on suspicion of battery of a police officer, disorderly conduct and resisting an officer, according to jail records.
He was being held on six-month-old charges of strong-arm robbery and domestic battery by strangulation, according to jail records and his attorney. The circumstances behind those charges were not immediately clear Friday night.
The attorney, Yale Stanford, in a statement described the footage as “obscene.”
“It just goes to show that no matter how hard you work, how many medals you earn for your country, and how many people across the globe you inspire, in Miami Beach, Mr. Kerley was treated like millions of African-Americans, male and female, around the country…with a lack of humanity, compassion, or respect,” the statement said. “It’s important for our community to be aware of these actions by police so we can make sure this type of behavior is prevented in the future.”
Kerley took silver in the 100-meter sprint in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and then bronze in that same race this past summer in Paris.
Kerley has a hearing scheduled for Saturday morning, Stanford said.
Lilia Wood and Tangni Noriega contributed.
