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American sprinter and Olympic medalist Fred Kerley was tased and arrested on Thursday night during a wild confrontation with police. On Friday, police bodycam video Kerley’s arrest was released to the public.
TMZ reports that the Miami Beach Police Department said the incident involving the 29-year-old star of the Netflix series SPRINT occurred at around 11:22 p.m. It was being referred to as “an active police scene” when officers responded to the 100 block of 9th Street in Miami Beach.
Fred Kerley, according to the Miami Police Department incident report, approached officers expressing concern about his vehicle that was parked nearby with “an aggressive demeanor.” Shortly thereafter, bodycam footage shows, Kerley became argumentative and his “demeanor became increasingly aggressive.”
When asked to leave the area, Fred Kerley refused, “fighting stance,” and at one point appeared to shove one of the officers.
That ignited a melee between Kerley and several cops who attempted to take him to the ground. During the scrum, one officer hit Kerley multiple times, while a woman, reportedly Kerley’s girlfriend, screams, “Stop! Stop! He’s an athlete, please do not mess with him!”
While continuing to resist the police, an officer eventually tased the track star and then handcuffs were applied. The woman then shouted at the cops, “Stop! Stop! Get the f—— Taser off of him! Stop! Stop! Stop! He didn’t do anything!”
After being cuffed, Kerley can be heard telling the officers, “Y’all weak… you’re weak. You put your hands on me, hit me in the head.”
NBC Miami reports that Kerley, 29, was booked into jail early Friday morning (4:07 a.m.) on charges of resisting an officer without violence and disorderly conduct.
Fred Kerley was the Olympic silver medalist in the 100 meter event at the 2020 Tokyo Games and the bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympics in Paris in the same event.