Ex-Yankees, Red Sox OF Johnny Damon brought up Blue Lives Matter, Trump support during arrest
Former Red Sox and Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon tried to appeal to arresting officers after a traffic stop Feb. 19 by saying he supported the Blue Lives Matter movement and even brought up his support for former President Donald Trump.
The Windermere (Florida) Police Department released bodycam footage from the incident showing that after Damon was stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence, a minor scuffle ensued that led to him and his wife, Michelle Mangan-Damon being handcuffed.
After being handcuffed, the situation calms and Damon and an arresting officer begin to talk about the incident, when Damon makes his appeal.
"Hey, bro, I'm a good (expletive) guy," Damon told one of the arresting officers. "I know people are trying to target me because I'm a Trump supporter."
The officer then responded by saying that wasn't why the officer stopped Damon, who responded: "It does."
That exchange came after the officer tried to get Mangan-Damon to return to the car after she exited it from the passenger side. The officer ordered Mangan-Damon to return to the car and when she didn't the officer went to subdue her.
The video also showed Damon trying to appeal to Mangan-Damon, before the officer grabs Damon and tells him to move away from the car. Eventually, the officer tried to get Damon in handcuffs.
Once additional officers arrive on the scene, Damon says: "Believe me, I am Blue Lives Matter" and adds that "we are all for cops."
At another point, an officer explains to Damon why they were stopped and why Magnan-Damon was also detained and put into handcuffs. The officer told Damon that when he went to subdue her, "she struck back at me" and was resisting.
"She's a tough girl," Damon responded. "She fights all the time."
Several minutes later, Damon said: "She's crazy. My wife is crazy."
When the arresting officer asked if Damon would consent to field sobriety tests, Damon said he would "because I am a big boy."
Damon, however, struggles to follow the instructions of three different tests and has to be repeatedly told about the proper way to conduct the assessments.
"I'm good, bro," Damon said, before adding later that he could "run a 4.2 40 right now," referring to a 40-yard dash.
The incident took place just before 1:30 a.m. Feb. 19. Damon was charged with with resisting an officer without violence, driving under the influence and running a stop sign. According to court records, Damon entered a not guilty plea for the latter two charges, while court records show the resisting case to be closed.
According to an arrest affidavit, the officer said Damon "was extremely unsteady on his feet and his speech was extremely slurred."
The bodycam footage showed Damon said he had been drinking "just a little bit." The arrest affidavit states that at 3:26 a.m., Damon gave two valid breath samples that registered his blood alcohol content at 0.3% and 0.294%, both of which are nearly four times the legal limit in Florida (.08%).
Damon, who grew up in Orlando and played high school baseball at Dr. Phillips High School, played 18 seasons in MLB for seven different teams: Boston and New York, the Royals, Rays, Cleveland, the Tigers and the Athletics.
He was a two-time All-Star and a two-time World Series champion, winning a title with the Red Sox and the Yankees.