Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon catches a pass during the AFC Championship NFL football game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023 in Kansas City, M.O. (Lauren Bacho via AP)
Update—Feb. 3, 2023, at 4:59 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to note the charge was quickly dismissed.
Prosecutors quickly withdrew an aggravated menacing charge accusing Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon of pointing a gun at a woman late last month, with the judge signing the dismissal order on Friday afternoon.
The misdemeanor charge, which lasted roughly a day on the criminal court docket, quoted Mixon telling a woman that she “should be popped in the face.” Authorities also claimed Mixon boasted “the police can’ get me,” according to charging documents released Thursday.
Court records quote Mixon abbreviating the “can’t” without the “t.”
Details are sparse in criminal filings inside Hamilton County Municipal Court, where Mixon had been charged in connection with the Jan. 21, 2023, incident in Hamilton County, Ohio.
Mixon’s charging affidavit — obtained by Law&Crime — did not state his alleged motive or relationship to the woman. It simply claimed that he “knowingly” pointed a gun at her and said: “You should be popped in the face. I should shoot you. The police can’ get me.”
He was charged with aggravated menacing, a first-degree misdemeanor.
“No person shall knowingly cause another to believe that the offender will cause serious physical harm to the person or property of the other person, the other person’s unborn, or a member of the other person’s immediate family,” the statute reads.
Police filed the charge on Thursday, and it was dismissed on Friday afternoon.
The court docket doesn’t list Mixon’s attorney of record, but the running back’s agent Peter Schaffer told local ABC affiliate WCPO that the charge marked a “rush to judgment” and would be dropped.
“They’re dropping the charges first thing in the morning,” Schaffer reportedly claimed on Thursday. “I really feel that police have an obligation before they file charges — because of the damage that can be done to the person’s reputation — to do their work. They should be held to a higher standard. Because I don’t play with people’s lives.”
That prediction came to pass, and prosecutors offered only a vague rationale for their sudden about-face.
“The city makes this request in the interest of justice,” the dismissal order said. “The case is hereby ordered dismissed.”
The Bengals said that they were aware of the situation, according to the TV station.
“The club is aware misdemeanor charges have been raised against Joe Mixon,” the Bengals reportedly said in a statement. “The club is investigating the situation and will not comment further at this time.”
Cincinnati police did not respond to Law&Crime’s press inquiries by email and phone.
This was not the first time Mixon had been accused of harming a woman — and faced a misdemeanor charge as a result. The last time, the charge stuck.
Close to a decade ago, Mixon was a college athlete with the University of Oklahoma Sooners when he was caught on tape punching a woman in a café on July 25, 2014. It took two years for authorities to release the video publicly.
At the time, Mixon pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of acts resulting in gross injury, in exchange for a year-long probation, 100 hours of community service, and therapy, The Oklahoman reported at the time.
The victim in that older incident, 22-year-old Amelia Molitor, reportedly suffered fractured bones in her face and later sued him in federal court.
Read the affidavit below:
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