New York Jets DT Sheldon Richardson has gotten himself involved in a truly insane crime story. On July 14th, he was arrested for allegedly drag racing on I-64 near his home in Missouri at speeds up to 143 mph, smoking pot, and for possibly threatening or attempting to threaten a police officer with a loaded semiautomatic weapon, all while a 12-year-old kid was hanging out in the backseat of his Bentley. Not great!And if you read the Probable Cause Report, it sounds even less great.
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So, that sounds pretty crazy. A Large—enormous!—black man in a Bentley reaches for something in his car after evading a police cruiser and is not shot to death by Missouri police. And crazier still, after all that, the Office of Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar is only charging Richardson—who last winter called Darren Wilson a "pig"—with resisting arrest and a variety of traffic violations. Nothing for reaching for the gun requiring the officer's use of his own gun. Nothing for the marijuana, and nothing for child endangerment.This all sounds very bad for Richardson, but it also sounds very weird. First of all, how did it take two weeks for this scene straight out of a movie to come to light? And why are they not even trying to get him on the guns and drugs charges? We all seem to be criticizing Richardson for being a typical, stupid jock—which he almost certainly is. But if any part of this is accurate, we have more than enough examples of typical, shady police departments to consider as well."I ordered Richardson and his two adult male passengers out of the vehicle at gunpoint due to Richardson appearing to reach for something between his feet upon being ordered to stop. A full loaded semi-automatic handgun was recovered from underneath the driver's side floor mat of the vehicle."