SOUTHLAKE, Texas - Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant was cited on a misdemeanor assault charge after a confrontation in a Southlake parking lot over the weekend.
Details of the altercation involving Dez Bryant
What we know:
The incident happened Sunday afternoon in a retail parking lot near Kimball Avenue and FM 1709.
Southlake police said they received reports of a fight involving multiple people and a possible weapon. Officers drew their firearms when they arrived but did not find any weapons.
Bryant was cited for assault by contact, a Class C misdemeanor, and was released. Police did not cite anyone else.
Bryant calls out police response
What they're saying:
Bryant shared cellphone video of the incident with FOX News OutKick and gave an interview raising concerns about how he was treated. The video shows Bryant and several other people detained on the ground after police arrived.
Bryant said the confrontation began after one of two drivers traveling together cut him off near Kimball Avenue.
"He got out of the car. He's talking crazy. I got out of the car. I'm talking my mess. And he goes to threatening me, and basically saying he's seen a way that he'll, you know, he'll shoot me or whatever," Bryant said.
Bryant said the group ended up in the same parking lot, where the confrontation escalated.
He also claimed police pointed an assault-style weapon at him in front of his two daughters, who had just arrived with his girlfriend.
"I was so confident in myself that I ain't doing anything wrong," Bryant said. "I was really more so concerned about my children, you know, looking at their dad being on the ground with a gun pointed at me."
Video shows Bryant slapping phone
Dig deeper:
The cellphone video Bryant shared only shows what happened after police arrived.
FOX 4 connected with two men involved in the confrontation, Noah Reyes and Terrence Avery, who shared video of what happened beforehand.
In the video, Bryant is seen yelling in the faces of the two men, cursing and threatening them. At one point, he slaps a phone out of one man’s hand and throws it across the parking lot.
Bryant acknowledged knocking the phone out of the man’s hand but said he was defending himself after the others insinuated they had a gun.
The video also shows Bryant confronting a 19-year-old woman who was recording the encounter.
Drivers speak put
What they're saying:
Reyes and Avery told FOX 4 they were headed to eat after church. They said they had been honking at each other while driving when they recognized Bryant traveling next to them. The two men said they accelerated to get into the right lane and never intended to confront Bryant.
"We sped off at a light, accelerated hard. We didn't swerve at him. We didn't do nothing that involved him or anything to provoke him," Avery said.
Reyes said Bryant repeatedly threatened them.
"Every five seconds, he was threatening us to beat us to the ground, stomp us in, kill us," Reyes said. "Essentially, that's what he was saying as well."
The size difference between Bryant and Reyes was also a concern for Reyes. Bryant was listed at 6 feet 2 inches and 220 pounds during his NFL career. Reyes said he is about 5 feet 8 inches and 130 pounds.
"We're in Texas, you know," Reyes said. "While we're big fans of Dez Bryant, it's true — you don't meet your heroes."
Why Southlake police drew firearms
Big picture view:
Southlake police said multiple people reported a fight and a possible weapon, which is why officers drew their guns when they arrived.
Officers did not find any firearms.
Bryant was cited for assault by contact, which is a Class C misdemeanor. Police did not cite anyone else.
What's next:
It remains unclear whether surveillance footage captured what happened when the group first arrived at the parking lot.
Reyes and Avery said they never planned to go public with their story but felt they needed to defend their reputations after Bryant spoke out.
The Source: The information in this story comes from Southlake police and comments made by Dez Bryant in an interview with Outkick. Additional information was provided by FOX 4's Vania Castillo.