In the wake of his alma mater LSU winning a national championship, video surfaced of Odell Beckham Jr. (OBJ) gently tapping a police officer on the posterior. The acts of Beckham led to two potential arrest warrants. The first proposed warrant was for sexual assault. The second proposed warrant was for misdemeanor assault and battery. The sports world turned from a historic victory for LSU to wondering if OBJ would actually be prosecuted for this act. While an action like this may seem insignificant, if OBJ was charged and convicted, he may have been suspended from the NFL and had his life altered. To gain insight into this story we spoke to leaders in the criminal law community to gain their insight.
© Getty ImagesScott Grabel is the founder of Grabel and Associates and has built a law firm that is know as the top criminal defense team across the state of Michigan. When asked for commentary, Grabel said, “Sometimes in our profession people can get carried away. Beckham was in a locker room celebrating with young kids from his school. He clearly had no intent to hurt anybody. To charge him with a crime, let alone a sexual offense would’ve been a miscarriage of justice.”
William Amadeo is a partner at McManus and Amadeo in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a Senior Associate for Grabel and Associates in Eaton Rapids, Michigan. Amadeo has quickly become known as one of the top trial lawyers in the state of Michigan and provided commentary when he said, “I had to laugh when I saw the tape. To try to charge OBJ with a crime over a silly act is a clear example of law enforcement going way too far. Nobody was injured. There was no intent to hurt anybody. The fact that a CSC was considered really shows how many horrible cases are presented to a prosecutor. To charge OBJ would be a slap in the face to real victims.”
Joe Brugnoli is an Associate at Grabel and Associates and is known as one of the top defense attorneys in Grand Rapids, Michigan. When asked his thoughts, Brugnoli, who comes from a history of law enforcement, stated, “Sometimes law enforcement overreacts. This was a clear example of that. I’m glad that Beckham did not have to go through the stress of criminal litigation for a non-threatening act.”
For those that have not seen the video, here is the clip of the alleged crime. Judge for yourself whether or not Odell Beckham Jr. should’ve faced criminal prosecution.