(Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(SEATTLE) Prosecutors on Wednesday charged former Seattle Seahawks player Chad Wheeler with first degree domestic violence and unlawful imprisonment after he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend last Friday.
Wheeler was also charged with resisting arrest, which Washington State considers a misdemeanor, according to a spokesperson for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office in Washington state, per CBS News.
Charges against the offensive tackle were released just hours after the Seahawks announced that Wheeler is a “free agent and no longer with the team.” CBS News reported that the NFL’s official transaction list shows that the Seahawks cut Wheeler from their team on Wednesday.
The Seahawks said their thoughts and support are with the victim, and that they “encourage Chad to get the help he needs.”
The lawsuit filed against Wheeler states that he “knowingly” restrained his girlfriend “in a manner that interfered substantially” with her liberty on Jan. 22.
Wheeler allegedly attacked the victim in her bedroom and strangled her with both hands. At one point, prosecutors say he forced his fingers down her throat and used his hand to cover her nose and mouth. Wheeler allegedly continued strangling the victim until she passed out.
The lawsuit says that the victim returned to consciousness, only for Wheeler to continue strangling her until she lost consciousness again. The victim allegedly remembers trying to roll away from Wheeler, only for him to “violently grab her left arm and rip her body back toward him.”
When the victim passed out again, Wheeler allegedly left the room. He returned once she regained consciousness and the lawsuit states that Wheeler “calmly, with surprised [remarked], ‘oh, you’re still alive.’”
The victim was able to get up and go to the bathroom, which she locked before sending text messages to friends, family and Wheeler’s father, asking that they call 911 so that Wheeler couldn’t hear her on the phone.
The lawsuit states that the victim heard Wheeler “calmly moving around in the room” and believed she heard him on the phone with his father while still in the bathroom. Wheeler allegedly told his father that he was “just chillin’.”
A police report obtained by The Seattle Times said that officers responded to a domestic dispute at a Kent city apartment after the victim called 911 and said she was being “killed.” The lawsuit states that police forced entry into the apartment after they heard the victim screaming from outside.
Officers found the victim with her face covered in blood and her left arm limp, according to the report. Please be advised that this content is very graphic: a picture of the victim after the incident can be found here.
Wheeler, a 6’7” and 310 pound man, allegedly resisted arrest. Officers used a tazer on him once, but it had “little effect.”
The entire time, Wheeler was allegedly screaming “sorry!” He also allegedly said “I don’t beat women” and was telling the victim that he loved her.
The victim was taken for emergency medical treatment. Scans revealed she had a fractured humerus bone and dislocated elbow in her left arm. She also had lesions on her neck, some in the shape of fingernails. Part of her left eye was almost completely red and her pants were wet from loss of bladder control, both signs that the lawsuit states indicate strangulation.
According to the report, Wheeler attacked the victim after she refused to bow to him.
The Seattle Times reports that Wheeler was held in King County Jail Monday night. He appeared in King County District Court, and bail was set at $400,000 on Monday.
The victim alleged that Wheeler suffers from bi-polar disorder and had not been taking his medication recently. She told police that she had been dating Wheeler for six months without “notable issues.”
Wheeler on Wednesday posted a series of Tweets about the incident, apologizing for the “turmoil” he has caused his family, teammates, fans and those closest to him.
“Events happened over the weekend that transpired from a manic episode,” Wheeler wrote. “I am deeply sorry for the pain and suffering that I have caused to [the victim] and her family.”
Prosecutors requested the court put Wheeler on electronic home detection and that he wear a GPS-enabled ankle device. His next court date is Feb. 9, according to CBS News.