Reports on Monday indicated that Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams would announce that no criminal charges would be filed against Bills running back LeSean McCoy as a result of a February bar fight that involved off-duty Philadelphia police officers.
Those reports were proven correct on Monday afternoon in a statement from Williams’ office. The D.A. announced that neither McCoy nor anyone else will face criminal charges as a result of the fight. Williams cited the difficulties in proving beyond a reasonable doubt who started the fight and whether actions were taken in self-defense or in the defense of others.
“For the past several weeks my office has worked diligently with Philadelphia Police Department’s Central Detectives to investigate this matter and, in the end, there is insufficient evidence to prove that any individual committed a criminal offense,” Williams said. “My job is not to decide if anyone acted appropriately or not. My job is to determine if evidence exists to charge any individual with a crime. I do that by looking at all the facts. That is what we did here. My decision today is consistent with my commitment to the citizens of Philadelphia to charge, and only charge, those people who, based on evidence, are guilty of crimes.”
McCoy could still face discipline from the NFL under the personal conduct policy. There’s no word on when a decision on that front might be made, but McCoy now knows he won’t run the risk of a criminal conviction in Philadelphia.