LOS ANGELES (AP) – Former NFL running back Lawrence Phillips, who was wanted by police for domestic violence, was arrested Sunday after allegedly running his car into three teenagers who argued with him during a pickup football game, police said.
Police had been seeking Phillips since earlier this month for allegedly attacking his girlfriend twice, once choking her into unconsciousness.
Phillips joined a group of 16- and 17-year-olds in a pickup football game in Exposition Park on Sunday and got into an argument with several of the teens, said Los Angeles police officer Sandra Escalante. He left the park, but returned and drove a black Honda onto the field, allegedly running into three teenage boys, she said.
The teenagers were taken to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
The car Phillips was driving was reported stolen in San Diego earlier in the week, Escalante said.
Phillips was arrested and held on the domestic violence felony warrant. Charges are pending in the Sunday incident, she said.
San Diego Police had offered a $1,000 reward for information leading to Phillips’ whereabouts, and said he had indicated he wouldn’t surrender peacefully.
The first domestic assault, in which police say Phillips’ 28-year-old girlfriend was choked, allegedly occurred Aug. 2 at her San Diego home. Police said the second assault allegedly took place 11 days later when Phillips confronted the woman at a party.
In both cases he left the scene before officers could arrest him.
Police have said Phillips is also wanted on an outstanding felony warrant from Los Angeles for an unrelated domestic violence case.
The former University of Nebraska star has a history of high-profile trouble with the law going back a decade to his time as one of the nation’s top college football players.
He was drafted sixth overall in 1996 by the St. Louis Rams despite pleading no contest to a charge of domestic violence in a confrontation with a girlfriend. He was released for insubordination in 1997 after 25 games with the Rams.
Phillips signed with the Miami Dolphins later in the 1997 season, but was released after pleading no contest to hitting a woman in a nightclub.
He was the top offensive player in NFL Europe in 1999 after setting league records for rushing and touchdowns with the Barcelona Dragons.
He signed with the San Francisco 49ers in 1999, but was released for missing a practice. He later played in the Canadian Football League.
AP-ES-08-21-05 2215EDT
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