Cleveland Browns player Malik McDowell arrested on charges of attacking an officer, public exposure

By Amy Simonson, Tina Burnside and Kevin Dotson, CNN

Updated 2330 GMT (0730 HKT) January 18, 2022

Cleveland Browns player Malik McDowell faces three charges, according to an arrest report.

(CNN)Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell was arrested Monday in Florida on charges of public exposure, battery on a law enforcement officer and obstruction of justice with violence for resisting arrest, according to an incident report.

A Broward County sheriff's deputy responded to a report of a naked man walking near a school in Deerfield Beach, according to the report. After McDowell looked up at the deputy and yelled an expletive, «the defendant then charged at me with at full speed (sic) with closed fist,» the report said. The officer said that due to proximity he was unable to avoid the attack or to use de-escalation tactics or a nonlethal weapon.«The defendant intentionally rammed his body into me and began swinging closed fist punches at me,» the officer said, according to the report. «The punches were swung with extreme aggression with at least one strike hitting me on my right eye/temple area of my eye.»The officer said he was dazed and felt extreme pain where he was struck, and that the NFL player continued the «violent attack» by landing strikes to the top of his head.Read MoreMcDowell then fled and after a foot pursuit, a Taser was deployed. McDowell was handcuffed and taken into custody, according to the report. In addition to the aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and obstruction of justice with violence charges, McDowell is also charged with exposure «due to the defendant walking around the street naked exposing his sexual organs in view of the public — to include a school that contained