Longtime NFL running back Adrian Peterson was arrested at Los Angeles airport after he attacked his wife, Ashley Brown, on a plane while it was taxing to the runway, forcing the plane to turn back. Peterson, 36, was arrested from the gate and will have to spend the weekend in police custody.
The incident happened on Sunday afternoon, when Peterson, who played for the Seattle Seahawks until his contract ended in January, assaulted his wife inside the plane in front of other passengers. He has been slapped with felony domestic violence charges. Brown is claimed to have suffered physical injuries as a result of the event.
Wife Beater
According to the police report, the alleged incident took place on an aircraft that had to turn around on the runway and return to the gate due to a verbal and physical conflict between Peterson and his wife Brown. The couple was on their way out of Los Angeles from Super Bowl week.
"Earlier today Adrian and his wife Ashley had a verbal argument on a flight, and he was removed from the plane," a representative for the family told TMZ. "This is a private misunderstanding between husband and wife and we anticipate it will all be resolved shortly."
The fight reportedly went so wild that the crew had to request the pilot to turn it back to the gate. Peterson and Brown share two children together.
Paterson was arrested after it was discovered that his wife had suffered a minor injury as a result of their dispute. He was taken into custody around 9:20 a.m. PST and booked at 11:33 a.m. PST. He was released at 2:26 p.m. PST on $50,000 bond.
According to reports, Brown stayed on the plane with her two children after Peterson was hauled off and completed her travel to Houston, where they live. Peterson and Brown were in LA for a pre-Super Bowl party.
Another Scandal
This isn't the first time Paterson has courted controversy. He was previously indicted in 2014 on a felony allegation of reckless or negligent injury to a child for hitting his infant son with a switch.
He was temporarily suspended by the Vikings over the incident, and avoided jail time after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor for reckless assault. However, in 2018, he said he still spanks his son with a belt.
He met Brown athlete while playing college football in Oklahoma. He was selected seventh overall by the Minnesota Vikings in 2007 and was voted NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
He has played for more than a half-dozen teams after a nine-year tenure with the Minnesota Vikings.
In 2012, he was awarded Most Valuable Player, with others, and at the age of 30, he became the oldest running back to be named to the first team All-Pro in 2015.
However, he has time and again been the center of controversy. Peterson held his older brother, Brian, after the nine-year-old was struck by a drunk driver when the family lived in Dallas. The Texas-born was only a few feet away when his brother, who died shortly after in the hospital, was hit.
When Peterson was 13, his father, Nelson, was arrested and accused with money laundering for a crack dealer network. He was given an eight-year sentence.
Peterson had six children with six different women prior to his 2014 marriage to Brown.
In 2013, he learnt he had father another child. The child was already two years old at that time but Peterson could meet him only a day before he was murdered by the mother's boyfriend, Tyrese Ruffin.
