Notre Dame defensive back Devin Butler was arrested at a South Bend bar early on Saturday morning, resulting in charges of battery on law enforcement and resisting law enforcement charges; both charges are felony counts.
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The police report details that officers showed up to the bar after a fight had broken out. Once officers arrived on the scene, they were told that they fight had been broken up and that no one wanted any law enforcement action taken. The officers then left, and found two women fighting outside the bar. The report says that Butler attempted to intervene in that fight, and that he become uncooperative after shoving one of the women.
Two eyewitnesses, though, disagree with what the police are reporting of the arrest. The two individuals — Haleigh Bailey and Selina Bell — say that were at the bar, and they say that the police were the ones at fault during Butler's arrest.
Via Mike Vorel of the South Bend Tribune:
"I was there that entire night," Haleigh Bailey, Butler's girlfriend, wrote in a message to The Tribune. "Reports say that everyone left the scene but I was still there and saw everything officers did to Devin.
"He was abused, and wrongly arrested. He never tackled an officer and he never intentionally hurt anyone. He had no reason to be tazed because he was never resisting arrest, and he was already on the ground complying when they tazed him."
Bell tells a similar story.
"I don't know who they're trying to reference him hitting or pushing, because he didn't do that to anyone. But he was holding his girlfriend and protecting her," Bell said in a phone interview on Wednesday night. "He 100 percent never hit her, pulled her, pushed her, grabbed her forcefully at all."
The police report says that the officer that Butler got into an altercation with was tackled by Butler, and that the officer had to be taken to the hospital to treat his injuries. However, the two women claim that Butler was unexpectedly tackled from behind first, and only fought back to defend himself from what he perceived as an unknown assailant.
"Reports say that Devin did all of these aggressive things but in reality, he was grabbed by the police from behind and never told who was grabbing him or why they were grabbing him," Bailey wrote. "Devin felt he was doing the right thing but out of nowhere was arrested for simply stopping an argument. He felt he had no reason to be detained."
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"Devin has been in a boot/cast and on crutches recovering for the past 8 weeks," Bailey wrote. "He is in no condition to be lifting weights, working out, or doing any 'tackling.' I have not seen him run let alone walk on two feet since the day before his surgery in June. I can assure you he did NOT tackle a police officer but police officers tackled HIM."
"That 100 percent did not happen," Bell said of the accusation that Butler tackled Officer Knepper. "Devin didn't even have the capability to pick someone up if he wanted to. He just got off of crutches the day before."
Vorel does not stop there with his report on the incident; he also reports that the officer from the arrest — Aaron Knepper — has been involved with excessive force complaints before. His report details three separate incidents where Knepper has drawn investigation, including two 2012 incidents; one saw him suspended without pay after he and two other officers allegedly harassed a 7-11 employee. The other saw a guilty verdict after was determined that Knepper and two other officers had illegal entered a home and used excessive force in using a Taser on a 17-year-old male. Knepper was not suspended for the second incident.
Butler has been suspended indefinitely from the Notre Dame football team after the arrest. The two charges he is facing each carry a sentence of up to 30 months in jail if he is convicted.
