U.S. Olympic sprinter Fred Kerley was arrested in Broward County on Thursday, accused of hitting a woman in the face resulting in a nose bleed, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Kerley, 29, was held in the Broward Main Jail as of Friday afternoon on one count of touch or strike/battery, a misdemeanor charge. He is listed as one of the competitors participating in the Grand Slam Track event at the Ansin Sports Complex in Miramar this weekend, the event’s website shows.
Just before 8 p.m. Thursday, deputies met at a hotel in Dania Beach with a woman who said her ex-boyfriend Kerley punched her, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel through a public records request. The Sun Sentinel is not naming the woman because of the nature of the alleged crime.
The woman is also a track runner and was scheduled to compete in the same track event scheduled from Friday through Sunday, according to the affidavit. She told deputies she had a meeting with her coach when she ran into Kerley and the two started arguing.
“Kerley became aggressive and continued to approach her, stating something to the effect of ‘I’m going to f— everyone up in here up,’” the affidavit said. The woman said Kerley then hit her one time in the face. The deputy noted in the affidavit that her injuries were consistent with what she told them.
Kerley’s attorney Richard L. Cooper said in a statement to the Sun Sentinel: “It is my understanding that Fred was attacked and, in the scuffle, a third party was injured. With time, we are confident that Mr. Kerley will be exonerated. We look forward to the truth coming out.”
Kerley was taken into custody rather than being issued a civil citation because both he and the woman were competing in the same track event, and “deputies feared that a chance of revictimization might occur,” the affidavit said.
He told the deputy that he had been in a relationship with the woman for about six months, and the two split in October. The deputy said in the affidavit Kerley did not answer the deputy’s questions after he was taken into custody.
In January, Kerley was arrested in Miami Beach after a confrontation with officers.
Body camera footage released by Miami Beach police shows Kerley arguing with a group of officers late on Jan. 2 before a physical confrontation erupted. Kerley was wrestled to the ground, where an officer stuck him several times and then used a Taser on the 29-year-old sprinter, police said.
He was arrested on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer without violence and disorderly conduct, the last of which was dropped, Miami-Dade County court records show. The case remains pending with the next hearing date scheduled for May 8.
Kerley won the silver medal for the 100 meters at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and the bronze for the same event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He has also earned six medals at the World Athletics Championships.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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