Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Adolphus Washington pleaded not guilty Monday to a concealed weapons charge stemming from a July 9, 2017 incident with Ohio police, per ESPN’s Mike Rodak.
Washington’s attorney, Clyde Bennett, said the charges against his client should be dropped based on his client’s interaction with police in Sharonville, Ohio police, and the kind of car he was driving at the time. The 24-year-old Cincinnati, Ohio native was arrested in Sharonville after police accused him of improperly carrying a concealed firearm, for which he has a permit for, near a local water park.
In a report, police stated that Washington displayed his firearm while he was within feet of officers and he, “did not inform officers beforehand.” Also noted by police was “at the time of the arrest, they were clearing out a crowd from the park's parking lot.”
Bennett is now refuting the claims against Washington, saying that his client was not actually stopped by the police, instead he was "one of many patrons" in the parking lot of the water park in question, the attorney said. In regards to the claim that the defensive lineman's weapon was not concealed, Bennett says this was not the case because Washington was driving a three-wheeled vehicle with an open top at the time, which implies that it was not possible for a weapon to be placed out of sight.
We now know that the vehicle that Washington was arrested in was a Polaris Slingshot, which he was seen sitting in while engaging with police in NSFW video of the incident released by TMZ.com. You can watch the video by clicking this link.
Rodak says it is not mandatory that Washington appear in court Aug. 1 for a pretrial hearing. The second-year player out of Ohio State was expected to see his role increased with the Bills this upcoming season, beginning in training camp which kicks off on Thursday. The arrest puts not only his playing time, but his spot on the team, in jeopardy under no-nonsense coach Sean McDermott.