Dez Bryant Cited for Misdemeanor Assault After Southlake Parking Lot Confrontation, Not Arrested

Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was issued a misdemeanor citation after a traffic dispute turned into a confrontation in a Southlake, Texas, parking lot on Sunday, Oct. 25, police said. Bryant was briefly detained along with others at the scene but was not arrested; he was released after being cited.

The incident has drawn wide attention, in part because Bryant and the other people involved have given sharply different accounts of what happened.

What police say happened

According to Southlake Police, as reported by CBS Texas and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth:

• Officers responded just before 1 p.m. on Oct. 25 to a parking lot in the 2200 block of FM 1709.
• Callers reported a confrontation involving several people and a possible weapon, so officers drew their firearms on arrival as a precaution.
• Several people, including Bryant, were temporarily detained. No firearms were recovered.
• The dispute reportedly began as a traffic incident near Kimball Avenue. Bryant told police another driver had cut him off.
• Both parties pulled into the parking lot, where an argument and a reported assault followed.
• Bryant, 37, was cited for assault by contact, a Class C misdemeanor, and released at the scene.

Was Dez Bryant arrested?

No. Based on the police statements reported by CBS Texas and NBC 5, Bryant was detained temporarily during the investigation and then released with a citation. A Class C misdemeanor in Texas is punishable by a fine of up to $500, USA Today noted, citing an OutKick report. That report also said the citation lists a court date of Nov. 20.

Bryant’s account

Bryant shared his side with OutKick, as summarized by USA Today. He said he saw two vehicles being driven recklessly and told the drivers at a stoplight to drive more safely. He said the situation escalated when they all stopped in the same restaurant parking lot, and he alleged that one of the men threatened to shoot him.

Bryant said the man then began recording on his phone, and that he knocked the phone out of the man’s hand. He said he encouraged the man to call police. When officers arrived, Bryant said, one pointed a gun and told all three men to get on the ground, where they were handcuffed, in front of his daughters. A video posted by OutKick shows three men on the ground in handcuffs and officers standing nearby with rifles, USA Today reported.

Bryant has maintained he acted in self-defense. “I would rather you guys take us all down to the police station and do the proper investigation instead of just taking somebody else’s side,” he said, according to USA Today. “I felt like it was very one-sided.”

The other side’s account

Two 19-year-olds involved, Noah Reyes and Terrance Avery, disputed Bryant’s version in an interview with NBC 5. They said they were heading to a restaurant after church and denied cutting Bryant off or driving recklessly. Reyes said Avery had been honking at him as a joke at a light when Reyes noticed Bryant in a nearby vehicle.

They also denied that either of them threatened to shoot Bryant. “We’re 19-year-old kids. We’re not legally allowed to have a gun,” Avery told NBC 5.

Video they provided to the station shows Bryant shouting at Reyes and knocking a phone out of his hand, NBC 5 reported. The teens allege he then picked up the phone and threw it to the ground. Bryant had not responded to NBC 5’s request for comment on their account.

What’s still unclear

Key details have not been independently confirmed, including who cut off whom and whether any threat was made. USA Today said it had requested the citation, the police report and body and dashcam footage from Southlake Police. It is also not yet known how Bryant plans to respond to the citation in court.

Bryant’s career

Bryant spent eight seasons with the Cowboys (2010-2017), catching 531 passes for 7,459 yards and a franchise-record 73 touchdowns, with three Pro Bowl selections, according to USA Today. He last played in the NFL with the Baltimore Ravens in 2020.

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