Southlake police held former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant at gunpoint and handcuffed him during a restaurant parking lot confrontation Sunday that ended with an assault citation.
Video that Bryant provided to OutKick shows him lying face down with his hands cuffed behind his back as an officer stands nearby holding a long gun. Two other men also lie on the pavement.
Bryant said his daughters witnessed the encounter and that he acted in self-defense after one of the men threatened him.
Police report possible weapon call
Officers responded at approximately 12:59 p.m. October 25 to reports of a fight in a retail parking lot in the 2200 block of FM 1709, the department said in a statement to OutKick.
Several callers reported multiple people fighting and a possible weapon. Officers drew their firearms as a precaution, temporarily detained several people and recovered no guns, police said.
The dispute began near Kimball Avenue after Bryant reported another motorist had cut him off, police said. Both parties entered the parking lot, where an argument and alleged assault followed.
Police confirmed they cited Bryant, 37, for assault by contact, a Class C misdemeanor, and released him at the scene.
Bryant says man threatened him
Bryant told OutKick that two drivers cut him off before the parking lot argument. He said one of the men made comments he interpreted as a threat to shoot him.
“No, he didn’t pull a gun out on me,” Bryant said.
He acknowledged warning the man that he would retaliate if the man pulled a gun and then failed to use it. Bryant said the man instead began recording him with a cellphone.
“I knocked the phone out of his hand,” Bryant said.
He accused officers of relying on the other man’s recording without sufficiently examining what led to the confrontation.
The citation OutKick reviewed marks “Arrest: No” and directs Bryant to appear at Southlake Municipal Court on or before November 20 at 5 p.m.
The three-time Pro Bowl receiver spent eight seasons with Dallas after the Cowboys selected him in the first round in 2010, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
Provided by Dallas Express
