Dolphins: Vontae Davis Wasn’t Arrested

In the wake of reports that Miami Dolphins first-round cornerback Vontae Davis was arrested June 9 in Champaign, Ill., for driving without a valid license and unnecessary vehicular noise, a team official is denying that Davis was even in Illinois at the time of the alleged traffic stop. In an e-mail to us, Dolphins spokesman Harvey Greene wrote that Davis was actually in South Florida and participated in the Dolphins’ Organized Team Activity on the same day that he was allegedly arrested. “I spoke to Vontae, and he told me he was in South Florida all day on June 9, the day the incident supposedly occurred,” Greene wrote. “In addition, we had a scheduled OTA that morning that Vontae attended, and he also attended a rookie life-skill session that afternoon. “Finally, we also know he was in the building at 7:00 a.m. the next morning. So, in addition to Vontae’s own word that he wasn’t in Champaign, it’s almost physically impossible for him to have been there at the time the incident allegedly took place.” According to the Daily Illini report, Davis was pulled over at 6:47 p.m. and issued a notice to appear. Citing a police report, Mike Berardino of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel is also reporting that Davis was arrested for the aforementioned charges. Per the Sun-Sentinel, Davis was pulled over as part of a “Terry stop,” where police officers deem there is sufficient suspicious activity to execute a traffic stop. He reportedly wasn’t booked by police officers. According to the Sun-Sentinel, Davis is scheduled to pay a small fine and there won’t be a warrant issued for his arrest. Meanwhile, David Neal of the Miami Herald writes that the newspaper’s request to see the police report was denied by the Champaign Police Department records office, which raises another question. Why would that department show the report to the Sun-Sentinel and the Daily Illini and not provide that information to the Herald? Especially since it’s a matter of public record. It’s also confusing that two different news organizations would write that Davis was cited in Illinois. Could someone else have been driving Davis’ car and/or using his identification? UPDATE: The Sun-Sentinel has updated its original report after reaching Davis. Although the arrest report reportedly lists a Vontae Ottis Davis from 920 Emerson Street in Washington, D.C., as the individual cited, Davis is denying he was arrested and insists he was attending an OTA on June 9 and June 10. Davis said that he hasn’t been in Champaign since February. “It’s a crazy thing,” Davis said. “When I heard about it, it hit me: ‘Oh, God.’ It was something I couldn’t prepare for. It just came out of nowhere.” Davis theorized that someone might be impersonating him since his wallet was stolen before he left school to enter the NFL Draft. “That’s the only thing I can think of,” Davis said. “But that shouldn’t be able to work if the police know that person doesn’t look like me.”