Minnesota Vikings' star running-back, Adrian Peterson, spent a night in jail after he was taken into Houston Police custody for resisting arrest early Saturday.
Peterson was charged with resisting arrest and was released on a $1,000 bond. The charge is a misdemeanor, and Peterson is due in front of a judge in Harris County on Friday, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The 27-year old Peterson was arrested at a downtown nightclub for allegedly hitting an off-duty Houston Police Department officer in the shoulder when he approached, Peterson, upon routine rounds, with the request to leave due to the clubs closing time.
Peterson was then asked to turn around and place his hands behind his back, in which he declined. A second off-duty officer approached in attempts to help arrest Peterson, but could not over-power the star running-back. It took the addition of a third Houston Police Department officer to arrest Peterson and take him to jail.
Despite his behavior, Peterson was not taken through a toxicology test. Even the police officers deemed it unnecessary to determine whether Peterson was drunk or were his responses and cognitive functioning impaired.
Since his arrest, Peterson has maintained his innocence, even taking it to twitter with a quote from Winston Churchill.
"A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on."
Peterson's attorney, Rusty Hardin, remains confident that his client was "the victim" and wrongfully charged.
"Adrian Peterson did not resist arrest this past Saturday morning and any suggestion that he pushed, struck or shoved a Houston Police Officer is a total fabrication," Hardin said in a statement Monday afternoon. "He, in fact, was struck at least twice in the face for absolutely no legitimate reason, and when all the evidence is impartially reviewed, it will clearly show Adrian was the victim, not the aggressor."
Hardin expanded on his statement to ESPN's Josina Anderson, saying witnesses will back Peterson's side of the argument.
"There are going to be non-police witnesses that are going to be very credible that are going to say that he never pushed, shoved, or touched a police officer."
Peterson just returned from a left knee injury, Dec. 24 that cut his season short to average 970 yards and 12 touchdowns. The injury-shortened season broke a streak of four straight seasons with at least 1,200 yards rushing for the former Oklahoma back.
