By Paul Skrbina
Chicago Tribune
An alleged tackle off the field could land Notre Dame senior cornerback Devin Butler in jail.
St. Joseph County (Ind.) prosecutors formally charged Butler on Tuesday with two felonies: resisting law enforcement and battery of an officer. Butler allegedly tackled officer Aaron Knepper and hit him several times in the stomach and side outside of a South Bend, Ind., bar early Saturday, according to a police affidavit.
Both felonies are Level 6 and could result in up to 21⁄2 years in prison if Butler is convicted. His arraignment is scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly suspended Butler indefinitely from the team Sunday, and Paul Browne, the university’s vice president for public affairs and communications, said Saturday that any student arrested on a felony charge also faces possible dismissal from school.
“Students charged criminally are subject to additional sanctions by the university, separately from any imposed by athletic teams or other extracurricular activities,” Brown said in a statement Tuesday.
A Notre Dame official told the Tribune that Kelly would not comment Tuesday on Butler, who wasn’t expected to play until October after breaking his left foot in June for the second time in six months. Kelly is scheduled to meet with the media after practice Wednesday evening.
Knepper and officer Luke Pickard were leaving the Linebacker Lounge after another call shortly after midnight Saturday when they heard two women screaming at each other and saw one kick the other in the head, police said.
Before police could intercede, Butler began cursing at the officers after they saw him “forcibly shove” a woman by her head and body, the court document said.
When the officers intervened, the report said, Butler pushed Knepper and “picked him up over the curb and tackled” him to the ground. Once there, police allege Butler hit Knepper, causing minor injuries to his elbow, wrist, neck, back and arm, police said.
He also ripped off Knepper’s belt before Knepper struck Butler and used a Taser to detain him, according to the document. Knepper was treated and released from Memorial Hospital that morning, the affidavit said.
Butler was released on a $1,000 cash bond Saturday afternoon. The police report said on the way to St. Joseph County Jail, Butler “apologized, stating he had been incredibly emotional and intoxicated.”
Kelly issued a statement Sunday after Butler and five other Irish players — safety Max Redfield, cornerback Ashton White, running back Dexter Williams, linebacker Te’von Coney and receiver Kevin Stepherson — were arrested in two separate incidents over the weekend. The latter five were detained in Fulton County, Ind., and charged with misdemeanor possession of marijuana after a traffic stop Friday night.
Redfield — whom Kelly dismissed from the team Sunday — Stepherson and Williams were also charged with misdemeanor possession of a gun without a license. Formal charges had yet to be filed against those five as of Tuesday afternoon.
“The expectations we set for the members of our team are high, but they are especially so for the upperclassmen,” Kelly said in the statement. “Max and, at least at this stage in the review of his case, Devin have failed in that regard and so have lost the privilege of continuing to be a part of our team.”
The other four players arrested, all sophomores and freshmen, could face additional punishment from the school.
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