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Patriots captain Jabrill Peppers arrested for assault and battery, strangulation

Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald on

Published in Football

BOSTON — Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers was arrested Saturday morning in Braintree and faces charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation, and possession of a class “B” substance.

Braintree police arrived at a residential address around 4:15 a.m. Saturday after receiving a disturbance call that described an altercation between two people. Following an investigation, Peppers was arrested, and police say “the victim was treated by E.M.S. at the scene.” The substance in question was discovered in Peppers’ wallet and believed to be cocaine, according to authorities.

Peppers pleaded not guilty during his arraignment at Quincy District Court on Monday morning. He was ordered to stay away from the alleged female victim, who said Peppers “hit her, choked her, took off her clothing and put her outside,” according to the police report. She also claimed Peppers grabbed her by the neck and smashed her head against the wall before allegedly throwing her down the stairs of his apartment.

Peppers claimed he asked the woman to leave several times and denied putting his hands on her. He said she fell down the stairs by herself because she was “intoxicated.” He told police the woman made these allegations to destroy his career.

Peppers and the alleged female victim gave differing accounts of how the incident began. His case has been continued to Nov. 22, with his appearance waived. If Peppers is arrested again, the judge warned, he can be “held.”

His attorney told reporters after the arraignment that they possess evidence, including video, they believe will ultimately exonerate Peppers.

A Patriots spokesperson released the following statement: “We are aware of an incident involving Jabrill Peppers over the weekend in which the police are currently investigating. We will have no further comment at this time.”

Peppers, 29, did not play in Sunday’s game against Miami. He had been listed on the team’s injury report as questionable with a shoulder injury. The Patriots ruled him out late Saturday morning, around the time head coach Jerod Mayo said Peppers called him to inform him of what had happened.

In a Monday morning interview on WEEI, Mayo said the team informed the NFL about the incident. Asked if Peppers is still on the team as far as he is aware, Mayo said: “I don’t think anyone knows the facts or anything like that. I mean, it’s a process.”

Mayo reiterated several times during his interview and a follow-up press conference with reporters that the team is still gathering information.

“We don’t know enough to say (Peppers) shouldn’t be in the building,” he said.

Mayo shared he addressed Peppers’ arrest with the team, but chose to keep the contents of his message private.

 

“What I will says is, all through training camp, all through the season, we talk about situations that happen around the league so we can learn from other people,” Mayo said. “As we gather information, I think players need to know about it so we can learn from whatever happened.”

Peppers was voted a team captain for the first time this season, his third in New England. He originally joined the Patriots as a free agent in 2022 and enjoyed a career year last season. In 15 games, Peppers posted 78 tackles, two interceptions, eight pass deflections, one forced fumble and a sack.

The Patriots signed Peppers to a 3-year, $24 million contract extension in late July.

Mayo commented on the extension shortly after it was reported, saying “I am very happy for Peppers and for his family and also for our team and the organization. He really embodies everything that we want on the field. He’s very selfless, he’s out there flying around all the time, and it’s good to get that deal done.”

Peppers, who had been entering the last year of his previous contract, later told reporters he wanted to be part of the Patriots’ ongoing rebuild.

“This is where I want to be. I’m comfortable here; comfortable with the scheme, I love the guys, I think we have something good going here right now,” Peppers said this summer. “So I definitely wanted to be part of the turnaround, for sure.”

In four games this season, Peppers has recorded 23 tackles, two pass deflections and an interception. Without him, the Patriots’ safety depth would be down to fellow captain Kyle Dugger, Jaylinn Hawkins, Marte Mapu, Dell Pettus and core special teamer Brenden Schooler.

The NFL offered no comment aside from confirming it is monitoring the situation and has been in contact with the Patriots.

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Matt Stone contributed from court.


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