Prosecutors on Wednesday charged former offensive Seattle Seahawks attacker Chad Wheeler with assault on domestic violence in the first place and domestic violence unlawful jail time after he allegedly attacked his girlfriend over the weekend. Both charges are considered crimes.
Wheeler was also charged with resisting arrest, a violation under Washington state law, according to a spokesman for the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office in Washington state.
Wheeler was booked into King County Jail and was released Tuesday on a $ 400,000 bond. A judge has ordered Wheeler to have no contact with the victim and no weapons to hand over, according to officials.
The charges come hours after the Seahawks’ to statement and said Wheeler is a free agent and ‘is no longer with the team’. According to the NFL’s official transaction list, Seahawks Wheeler cut off the team on Wednesday.
The team encouraged him to seek help and share information for gender-based violence and those suffering from mental health issues.
“The Seahawks are saddened by the details that are emerging against Chad Wheeler and strongly condemn this act of domestic violence,” the team said. “Our thoughts and support are with the victim.”
Danny Karnik / AP
Prosecutors said in a documentary that Wheeler allegedly attacked and strangled the victim in her bedroom on January 22. He allegedly beat her twice in an unconscious and left her both times.
According to a police report, officers responded to a domestic dispute in an apartment in the city of Kent after Wheeler’s girlfriend called 911 and told the operator that she was being ‘killed’. When they arrived, she shouted from inside and asked the officers to force her into the house, the report said.
Wheeler initially resisted him before arresting him, the report said. His girlfriend was admitted to hospital after officers found her with her bloodied face and her left arm was limp against her body, the report said.
The woman claims Wheeler strangled her and at one point used one of his hands and ‘bruised’ her nose and mouth to prevent her from breathing, ‘the report reads. She started fighting back, but lost consciousness, the report said. When she woke up, Wheeler allegedly asked her, “Are you alive?” and she ran into the bathroom and started dialing 911, the report said.
The report lists the woman as 5 feet 9 inches tall and weighing 145 pounds, and Wheeler is 6 feet 7 inches tall and weighs 310 pounds.
Officers showed up shortly after Wheeler selected the bathroom lock and apologized to the woman, the report said. The woman claims Wheeler suffers from bipolar disorder and is taking medication, but has not been taking it recently, the report said, adding that she had told police that the couple had gone out six months earlier without any “significant problems”.
Prosecutors asked the court to place Wheeler on electronic home tracking and that his single-monitor device be equipped with GPS. His next court date is February 9th.
Wheeler was drafted in 2017, but signed with the New York Giants and played in 19 of 27 games. He was released by the team before the 2019 season and then joined the Seahawks’ training group. He saw no campaign that year, but played in five games last season.
Striking figures in the NFL responded to the news of Wheeler’s arrest and demanded that the league take action.
Pittsburgh Steelers attacking suit Zach Banner, who was Wheeler’s roommate in college, tweeted that Wheeler is ‘completely different’ from the person he knew. “What he did was heartbreaking, and I will never forgive it … My thoughts and prayers go out to the victim. She and her health must have the highest priority.”