Ravens linebacker Tony Fein, an Iraq War veteran, was recently was arrested for assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest.
When word of the arrest broke, it seemed odd that the Baltimore police would be conducting a Sunday night press conference to discuss the case.
Apparently, the cops were simply trying to take the lead in the coming P.R. battle.
Fein’s agent, Milton Lee Hobbs, claims that the incident resulting from profiling on the basis of race and clothing, according to the Baltimore Sun.
Per the report, Hobbs contends that the arresting officer, Sgt. Joseph Donato, was aggressive, that Fein didn’t assault Donato, and that police approached Fein “because he was a black man wearing a sweat suit and hoodie.”
The issue arose because Fein and others were supposedly passing around a silver cell phone that was mistaken for a gun. When police approached Fein and asked him to stand, he allegedly refused. When they asked him again, Fein allegedly stood and shoved Donato.
“It looks awful for Tony and puts him in a bad position,” Hobbs said.
The Sun explains that security has been high at the Inner Harbor due to a couple of recent incidents there, including an August 15 gang-related shooting. When the city decided to beef up the police presence and activitiy, Mayor Sheila Dixon predicted that there would be friction.
“People might not like it,” Dixon said earlier this month. “Some radicals are going to speak out about it. Our officers are going to have to be more aggressive.”
The question is whether the officers or Fein were too aggressive on Sunday night.