State drops assault charges against 'Canes CB Rolle

[DJRamFan]

Aug. 2, 2004
SportsLine.com wire reports

MIAMI -- Hurricanes cornerback Antrel Rolle won't be tried for allegedly striking a police officer, and was reinstated to the team.

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Coach Larry Coker had indefinitely suspended Rolle after his arrest.

"I am extremely pleased that there has been a positive resolution to the issue," Coker said in a statement Monday.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Grieco said that while the arrest was "valid," Rolle's "post-arrest contrition and lack of criminal history" led to the decision to drop the case. The physical contact between Rolle and the officer was "merely incidental," Grieco said.

Rolle -- whose father is chief of police in nearby Homestead -- also participated in an ride-along with Miami-Dade County police "during active nightlife hours," gaining an appreciation for officers' work, Grieco said.

According to a police complaint, Rolle was involved in a fight in a street near campus earlier this month and resisted arrest, cursing and swinging his arms in an attempt to free himself and forcing officers to call for backup help.

Along with the felony charge, Rolle was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting an officer without violence, both misdemeanors. He was suspended indefinitely from the team after the arrest.

University spokesman Rick Korch said Monday that Rolle will be reinstated, though he was not sure when.

Rolle was in court Monday with family members, including his father. They left the courtroom quickly without comment. Last season, Rolle was second on the team with two interceptions and finished sixth on the team with 47 tackles.

Miami last week decided to admit star recruit Willie Williams, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound linebacker who had not disclosed his lengthy arrest record when he agreed to join the Hurricanes. The school said Williams would have to abide by several special academic conditions.

Williams pleaded no contest earlier this summer in two separate incidents that occurred during a recruiting trip to the University of Florida. He was charged with setting off fire extinguishers at his hotel and a misdemeanor battery charge for hugging a woman without consent.


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