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Buffalo Bills offensive line coach Aaron Kromer has been arrested and charged with battery, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
#Bills OL coach Aaron Kromer was arrested last night and charged with battery with intent to cause bodily harm, per the Walton County Jail.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 12, 2015
Here is the information from the Walton County (Fla.) Jail on #Bills OL coach Aaron Kromer’s arrest and charge pic.twitter.com/J8C1JAciXq
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 12, 2015
Walton County sheriff's office says that Aaron Kromer's misdemeanor battery charge was against a juvenile son of his neighbor.
— Mike Rodak (@mikerodak) July 12, 2015
Kromer is charged with "intentionally causing bodily harm to another person" for an altercation with his neighbor's son and was arrested at 1:39 a.m. at his home in Panama City, Florida. As SB Nation notes, a first offense for this type of arrest will result in an automatic suspension of at least six games. Legally speaking, he faces a penalty of up to a year in jail and up to a $1000 fine if he's convicted of this misdemeanor.
Kromer came to the Bills from the Chicago Bears where he served as offensive coordinator under Marc Trestman for two seasons. He took fire when he revealed himself the anonymous source behind a news article criticizing Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Prior to that, he was an offensive assistant with the New Orleans Saints.
He was released after 3:00 a.m., according to the court documents. The Bills released the following brief statement: "We are aware of the report and in the process of gathering the facts."
Update: 12:00 p.m. ET
The Walton County Sheriff has released this statement on the incident:
"On Saturday night deputies with the Walton County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence on Winston lane at Inlet Beach in Walton County, Fla in reference to a battery.
When they arrived deputies spoke to the caller and learned three boys had been fishing on the beach when the suspect, later identified as Buffalo Bills Offensive Line Coach Aaron Kromer, and the suspect’s son confronted them over the use of beach chairs left by a beach access.
Victims told deputies Kromer grabbed their fishing pole and threw the pole into the water and then pushed one of the boys to the ground and punched him in the face. It was stated Kromer then told the boys to return the chairs to where they found them.
The victim stated Kromer also told him if he reported him to the police he would kill his family.
Kromer was subsequently arrested early Sunday morning on a misdemeanor battery charge and transported and booked into the Walton County Jail. He has since been released on bond.
WCSO is continuing to investigate and additional charges may be filed. WCSO executive staff will be reviewing this case first thing Monday morning when the redacted arrest report will be made available. Thank you for your cooperation and patience."
Update: 8:15 p.m. ET
A source that spoke with Alex Marvez of FOXSports.com attempted to convey Kromer's side of the story, to some degree. The report indicates that Kromer was attempting to recover stolen property (i.e. the beach chairs) and could not see who he was attacking in the dark. No mention of his alleged verbal threat to said party is made, however.
A source told FOXSports.com's NFL insider Alex Marvez that the incident stemmed from Kromer responding to the theft of his beach chairs.
"It was dark out. He couldn't see the people," the source said. "The kids were belligerent and threatened him. Bottom line, they stole his property and he couldn't identify them because it was dark out and they threatened him."