SEATTLE — Former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was arrested Wednesday morning on investigation of burglary domestic violence after trying to force entry into a family member’s house, according to Redmond police. He is also being investigated by the State Patrol for an earlier hit-and-run, single-vehicle collision, a spokesperson said.
Sherman, 33, of Maple Valley, was booked into the King County Correctional Facility in Seattle at 6:08 a.m., jail records show. He is expected to make his first court appearance on Thursday afternoon, at which time a judge will determine if there is probable cause to believe that Sherman committed a crime. The judge could set bail or order that Sherman be released.
The King County Sheriff’s Office notified Redmond police that Sherman was possibly traveling to the Eastside city at 11:26 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Wednesday news release from Redmond police. The release does not indicate the reason for the notification.
Around 1:49 a.m. Wednesday, Redmond police officers responded to a 911 call of a burglary in progress and found Sherman outside the residence, the release says. Police say Sherman fought with officers and a police dog was used to arrest him.
Trooper Rick Johnson said Wednesday that the State Patrol responded to a one-car collision on eastbound Highway 520 near the 148th Avenue Northeast exit around 1 a.m. The vehicle, which had crashed into a concrete jersey barrier, had been driven away from the scene by the time troopers arrived but it was found disabled or abandoned off the exit, Johnson said.
Troopers ran the license plate, which led them to an address in Redmond, where they assisted Redmond police in placing a man into custody, he said. Troopers observed indications of possible impairment and obtained a warrant for a blood draw, Johnson said.
The State Patrol is “doing the investigation on suspected DUI and suspected hit and run,” patrol spokesman Sgt. Darren Wright said in a phone interview.
Reached by cellphone, Sherman’s wife, Ashley Moss, was emotionally shaken and declined to discuss specifics of the incident that led to Sherman’s arrest.
“At this time we’re going to make no statements, except he didn’t harm anybody,” Moss said. “My kids were not harmed in the incident. He’s a good person and this is not his character. We’re doing all right, just trying to get him out. I want people to know no one was injured.”
King County property records show Moss’ parents live about 3 miles from where Sherman’s car was found abandoned. Redmond police have not provided the location of Sherman’s arrest.
The King County Sheriff’s Office obtained an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) against Sherman earlier this year to bar him from possessing firearms, according to court records. The petition was sealed by a Superior Court judge, so details are unknown. Under state law, ERPOs can be sealed if there are no other active protection orders against the restrained party, no pending violations of the order, and evidence of full compliance with the relinquishment of firearms.
Sherman is an NFL free agent. He was with the San Francisco 49ers the past three years after playing with Seattle from 2011 to 2017. He was a star on the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom defense that reached two Super Bowls and won one.
The NFL Players Association, of which Sherman is a vice president, released a statement Wednesday morning.
“We were made aware of an arrest last night of one of our player leaders for an alleged domestic violence incident and have activated our domestic violence crisis protocol for the protection and support of everyone involved,’’ the statement read. “We will continue to monitor events closely as more facts are made available to us.’’
Sherman’s bio on the NFLPA page states: “Sherman has been a player representative since 2014 and was reelected in 2018 with his current team, the San Francisco 49ers. He was voted onto the NFLPA’s Executive Committee in 2016 and was reelected in 2018 and 2020 to continue his vocal, passionate leadership.’’
Sherman has served as his own agent since negotiating a contract with the 49ers in 2018 following his release by the Seahawks that March.
In a statement Wednesday morning, the NFL noted that Sherman remains a free agent but the league will investigate his case for possible discipline.
“Free agents are eligible to sign with any team,” the statement read. “The league investigates any incident involving law enforcement and if there is a violation of the personal conduct policy the player would be facing discipline.”
Sherman has said in several interviews in recent months that he would consider re-signing with the Seahawks.
Seattle coach Pete Carroll said following the draft in May that the team would be open to re-signing Sherman but at the time had no plans to add cornerbacks.
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News researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report.
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CORRECTION: This story has been updated to reflect that Sherman was arrested on suspicion of burglary domestic violence, not a charge of burglary domestic violence.
