Former Baltimore Ravens star Terrell Suggs was arrested on an assault charge Tuesday night in Arizona, TMZ Sports reported.
Suggs, 41, was booked into the Maricopa County jail on one count of assault and one count of offense against public order, a spokesperson for the Scottsdale Police Department told TMZ Sports. He was later released.
The charges stem from an alleged incident at a Scottsdale Starbucks drive-through on March 10, according to court documents obtained by TMZ Sports.
After Suggs’ SUV backed into another customer’s vehicle, police say both drivers got out and argued before getting back in their cars. Suggs then flashed a middle finger at the other driver before challenging him to a fight, allegedly calling the man a “cracker” and adding, “I’ll kill your bitch ass.”
As Suggs drove away, authorities say he flashed a gun outside of his driver’s side window. “The handgun was never pointed at the victim and was just merely shown,” police wrote, per TMZ Sports.
“I was in a quiet area of Scottsdale in the middle of the day in a Starbucks drive-thru near my home when an incident happened with a vehicle behind me. I was getting coffee, I was not looking for any trouble,” Suggs said in a statement to TMZ Sports through his representation.
“When the man in the other vehicle escalated the situation, I feared for my safety not knowing what his intentions were. Throughout the incident, I was the one who felt in danger, while fearing I would be followed home and for the safety of my family nearby at my residence.”
Suggs, who played college football at Arizona State, was the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year in 2003 and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2011.
His Hall of Fame-caliber numbers include 139 sacks, 37 forced fumbles, 15 fumble recoveries, seven interceptions and 895 tackles across 244 games (226 starts) with the Ravens (2003-18), Arizona Cardinals (2019) and Kansas City Chiefs (2019).
A seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Suggs was a first-round pick (10th overall) by Baltimore in 2003 and won Super Bowl championships with the Ravens (SB XLVII) and Chiefs (SB LIV).
