PITTSBURGH _ Steelers safety Kameron Kelly was arrested early Friday after he got into a confrontation with police officers when he refused to leave a South Side bar, according to court documents.
Pittsburgh police charged Kelly, 23, no address listed, with terroristic threats and resisting arrest. The Steelers on Friday afternoon waived Kelly, who can be claimed by any of the other NFL teams. In his place, they promoted second-year safety Marcus Allen from the practice squad.
Pittsburgh police officer Zachary Webb wrote in a police affidavit that he was working early Friday at Mario's South Side Saloon when a bar employee told him that an unruly patron _ later identified as Kelly _ needed to be removed.
The bar employee said that Kelly threatened to knock him out after becoming agitated when his music selection was skipped over on the jukebox. Mario's staff said that this was not the first time that Kelly had issues at the bar.
Kelly ignored Officer Webb's orders to leave the bar at first, but then he went outside with the officer.
After speaking with Kelly, the officer accidentally stepped on the foot of a woman, Devyn Pritchard, who began yelling at him. Kelly then informed Officer Webb that Pritchard was "his girl," pushed his chest into the officer, and threatened him, according to the affidavit.
The officer said that he attempted to place handcuffs on Kelly when another man, Andrew Lewis, grabbed the football player and started pulling him away from the officer. Other officers nearby told Lewis not to interfere and eventually had to physically remove him, according to the affidavit.
Meanwhile, Officer Webb continued to struggle with Kelly, who fell to the ground during the altercation. The officer fell on top of him and told him to stop resisting as a crowd _ including some "irate" friends of Kelly _ formed around them, the affidavit said.
Officer Webb said he "knew that the longer officers struggled with Kelly, the more likely we would be putting ourselves in harms way either by Kelly's actions or those of the irate onlookers," so the officer decided to punch Kelly in the face multiple times. That allowed the officers to roll Kelly onto his stomach and place him in handcuffs.
As Officer Webb tried to escort Kelly into his patrol car, Pritchard attempted to block their path until other officers moved her out of the way, according to the affidavit. Kelly began to tense up again, Officer Webb wrote, forcing the officer to push him into the backseat of the patrol car.
Kelly, who suffered a "busted lip" in the incident, was taken to UPMC Mercy hospital where he continued to struggle with the officers watching him during his brief stay, according to the affidavit. Afterward, officers took Kelly to the Allegheny County Jail, where he was released on nonmonetary bond. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for Dec. 30.
No attorney was listed for Kelly.
Officer Webb said he informed Pritchard that she would receive citations in the mail. Lewis was charged with obstructing the administration of law.
Kelly was in his first year with the team after signing this past offseason as an undrafted free agent. He had spent the spring playing in the now defunct Alliance of American Football, but impressed the Steelers in minicamp as well as training camp in the summer.
Kelly served as the team's starting free safety in the season opener at New England because of an injury to Sean Davis. Davis returned the next week, and since then, Minkah Fitzpatrick has been the starting free safety since the Steelers traded for him. Kelly mostly played on special teams.
"Honestly, man, for all the young guys out here, man, just be careful who you're around, where you're around, and be a role model for the team," Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster said Friday afternoon. "You never know when a time is going to come for you, but just be a leader. You're not only representing yourself but your family, your last name, Steeler Nation and your teammates."
Defensive captain Cam Heyward said he had no comment, other than: "I'm still trying to figure out facts. I heard about it this morning. I want to see what happens. We've got a good organization that will take care of it. ... Guys need to make smart decisions."
