Ex-Marlins star says Miami Police ‘always looking’ to ‘put their hands on athletes’ after Olympian’s arrest

Olympic athlete Fred Kerley was arrested Thursday night, and several videos of the encounter went viral.

Bodycam footage showed the 2024 bronze medalist getting tased by police, while another angle showed one officer throwing punches while others held Kerley down.

Kerley was taken into custody after police said he grew agitated when he was trying to get to his car, which was near the location of an active police investigation.

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Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Fred Kerley (Imagn)

Bodycam footage obtained by TMZ Sports shows Kerley talking to police before turning to another officer, who placed a hand on Kerley’s chest, which Kerley knocked away. The officer then pushed Kerley with his other hand before chaos ensued.

Former Miami Marlins star Jazz Chisholm Jr., who now plays for the New York Yankees, criticized police for their actions.

“Miami Beach police always looking for a way to put there [sic] hands on athletes! Sorry this happened to you Fred!” Chisholm posted to X.

Kerley faces charges of battery on a police officer, corrections officer or firefighter; resisting an officer without violence; and disorderly conduct. He was released on his own recognizance.

Fred Kerley (USA) in a men’s 100-meter round one heat during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France. (Andrew Nelles\/USA Today Sports)

Kerley’s arrest Thursday led to him facing domestic violence and robbery charges from an incident in May, when police issued a probable cause alert to their system. According to an arrest affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital, Kerley and his wife got into a verbal, and then physical, dispute in May, on his birthday, when Kerley’s wife was in contact with an “unknown person on Instagram.” 

Kerley, the affidavit says, approached his wife aggressively, and she punched him out of fear, according to the affidavit. Kerley then allegedly “grabbed the victim, pushed her to the ground, encircled his arm around her neck and impeded her breathing.”

The affidavit says Kerley then stole his wife’s cellphone after placing her in a second chokehold. Kerley was not present when authorities arrived, and witnesses became uncooperative, police said.

The woman Kerley was with Thursday, Cleo Rahman, was also apparently arrested, and the two are said to be dating. Rahman wrote “free my man” as her caption to the video of the officer punching Kerley.

“So as we tried to move around to our car, the police officer decided to push my boyfriend and move him out of the way, and it started a big fiasco,” Rahman, a rapper who goes by DJ Sky High Baby, told NBC Miami. “We were simply just trying to get to the car. We weren’t trying to obstruct justice or anything like that. It’s just crazy to the extent that it (took) four police officers to try to detain him. It was absolutely crazy.”

Fred Kerley (USA) reacts after competing in a men’s 100-meter semifinal during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade de France.  (Yukihito Taguchi/USA Today Sports)

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Kerley won a bronze medal in Paris in the summer in the 100 meters, while teammate Noah Lyles earned his first Olympic gold. Kerley won the 2022 world championships in the event and silver in the Tokyo Olympics, and he also has world championships in the 4×400-meter relay in 2019 and the 4×100-meter relay in 2023.

Kerley was a part of the 4×100-meter team in Paris that was disqualified due to a botched handoff. Noah Lyles figured to be a part of that team but fell ill with COVID, which contributed to him falling short in the 200 meters, an event for which he was the heavy favorite.

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