New details emerge in arrest of Bruce Maxwell, first MLB player to kneel in protest
The police report from Oakland Athletics catcher Bruce Maxwell’s arrest has been released, and provides more details on Maxwell’s actions the night he was arrested for aggravated assault with a weapon and disorderly conduct.
The report, which totals 20 pages, includes the statements of eight officers who were on the scene. Personal information, such as Maxwell’s address, have been redacted. You can read the full police report here.
Here’s a rundown of the relevant points, according to the officers:
• A Postmates delivery person called police saying a man pointed a gun at her while she was delivering food to his home. The man was later identified as Maxwell. According to the woman, Maxwell opened the door and pointed a gun at her face. She asked if he was “Bruce,” the name on the order. Maxwell acknowledged the gun at one point, telling her “not to worry about” it. He eventually took the gun out of her face and took the food. She made it to her car and called police. The woman said the whole interaction took about 60 seconds.
• Police arrived at the scene, found Maxwell and asked him to call 911 and listen to the person on the line regarding how to exit the house safely. He walked out of the house with his hand raised and cell phone to his ear.
• Officers asked Maxwell if he had any guns. He admitted to having two, but said he also had a concealed carry permit. Police returned later with a search warrant and found both firearms.
• Maxwell was compliant until asked to get on the ground. He was handcuffed by officers at this time. One officer readied his taser, while at least two others pointed their firearms at Maxwell during this time. Neither the taser nor firearms were used.
• As officers began asking Maxwell questions, they reported a strong odor of alcohol on his breath. One officer said Maxwell was “often yelling,” using excessive profanities and kept contradicting his version of events.
• At some point during the questioning, Maxwell reportedly grew upset and started “making anti-police statements.”
• The woman positively identified Maxwell as the person who put a gun in her face after he was taken into custody.
• Police confirmed that a “Bruce M.” placed an order at the restaurant where the Postmates driver picked up Maxwell’s food.
The 26-year-old Maxwell is the only Major League Baseball player to take a knee in protest during the national anthem. He played in 76 games with the Athletics in 2017, hitting .237/.329/.333. Maxwell began kneeling at the end of the season, and explained his reasoning behind the decision to Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan.
Shortly after the end of the regular season, Maxwell was involved in an incident at an Alabama restaurant where he claimed a waiter refused to serve him due to his protests. The waiter has called Maxwell’s version of events “an absolute lie.”
Shortly after his arrest, the A’s said they were disappointed and were still gathering information about the case.
Maxwell could be subject to discipline by either the team or the league depending on what comes of this situation.
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Chris Cwik is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Chris_Cwik
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