911 call made before Richard Sherman arrest now under investigation
A new storyline has emerged surrounding Richard Sherman’s recent arrest in Seattle.
The initial 911 call made by Sherman’s wife, Ashley Moss, is now under investigation by the King County Sheriff’s Office, a public information officer confirmed to Yahoo Sports on Monday.
The news comes after a wide range of complaints online called for the female 911 dispatcher to be fired for her “combative” behavior.
Sherman was initially arrested and booked on a felony burglary domestic violence charge on July 13 after attempting to break into his father-in-law’s home.
During Moss’ call, she pleaded for help when Sherman was “drunk and belligerent and threatening to kill himself.”
During the 911 call, obtained by Seattle’s KIRO Radio, the dispatcher interrupts a panicked Moss, telling her to “stop” repeatedly.
“You need to stop interrupting me so I can get the information I need to get officers expedited,” the dispatcher can be heard saying.
At one point Moss explains that the free agent cornerback is wrestling her uncle, to which the dispatcher says, “trying to fight somebody and actually making physical contact are two different things. How is it physical?”
Police eventually brought in a K9 unit to help capture Sherman, who allegedly fought with officers at the scene of the arrest.
After Moss described the matter as “a f–king emergency” and that her husband consumed “two bottles of vodka and Hennessy,” the dispatcher demands, “Listen to me, I am handling this. You need to stop telling me that. Talking to me is not going to slow help down.”
In the 911 recording, another man, presumably near Moss, chimes in on the call and the dispatcher says, “Sir, I only talk to one person so please put the phone down.”
Despite the backlash against the dispatcher, King County sheriff John Urquhart appeared to defend the 911 operator, telling KIRO, she had to be “short” on the call because she “has certain information she has to get, and she has to get it right now,”
Urquhart explained, “She’s short with the woman because she’s taking control. Any time you’re in a conversation with someone, when someone takes control, that makes people step back and say, ‘hey wow what’s going on here?’ But in this case, they don’t understand why it’s so important, why it’s absolutely critical and it can be life and death. They may be upset with kind of the tone of it. But when you realize all that has to be done, it’s just fine.”
The attention of Sherman’s case and subsequent complaints about the 911 recording prompted the Redmond Police Department to release a statement informing it is not “connected” to the incident.
“The King County Sheriff’s Office, in response to public comment, opened an administrative review of this matter that will take several months to conclude,” the statement read in part.
Sherman was held without bail following his arrest and was later released. His initial felony burglary domestic violence charge was dropped, and he was later handed five misdemeanors, according to the Seattle Times.
The latter charges, which Sherman pleaded not guilty to on Friday, include criminal trespass in the second degree with a domestic-violence element, reckless endangerment of roadway crews, driving under the influence, resisting arrest and malicious mischief with a domestic violence element.
Following his release from behind bars, King County District Court Judge Fa’amomoi Masaniai called Sherman a “pillar of the community,” and released him due to it being his first arrest.
The 33-year-old NFL star also issued a public apology and vowed to receive help for his “personal challenges,” including his “mental and emotional health.”
Meanwhile, Moss has remained by her husband’s side. In a statement about the situation, she told the Seattle Times that her husband “didn’t harm anybody.”
“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,” Moss said.