Former NFL cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, 41, was arrested again just before 2 a.m. Saturday and booked into Kenton County jail after being arrested by the Covington Police Department in Kentucky.
He faces charges of alcohol intoxication in a public place, disorderly conduct and assault of a police officer or probation officer. Jones posted a $10,000 bond and was released around 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
Police were called to a bar around 1 a.m. Saturday morning over a report of a “disturbance involving a customer and an employee.” When officers arrived, they were notified of a car attempting to leave the area. Officers said they stopped the car being driven by Jones and stated that he had been consuming alcohol and that the charges “related to his level of intoxication and his behavior.”
Peter Schaffer, Jones’ agent, claimed the ex-NFL player had done “nothing wrong” during his confrontation with police and that his only transgression was to “exercise his right to ask why he was being detained — a fundamental question that every citizen should be allowed to ask without fear of retaliation.”
“Initially, officers claimed he was being arrested for assault and then shifted to public intoxication (which, in itself, is not a crime in many jurisdictions unless it leads to dangerous behavior), and finally settled on disorderly conduct — simply for asking why he was being detained,” Schaffer said in a statement. “This pattern of escalating and inconsistent charges is a clear abuse of authority and demonstrates a troubling trend of police officers prioritizing their own discretion over constitutional rights.”
Covington police defended their actions in a news release, stating that “Adam Jones is being held to the same standard of conduct as any other individual in our community.”
Saturday’s arrest marks at least the fourth time since 2021 that Jones has been arrested. He has been booked on a public intoxication charge three years in a row.
In 2021, Jones pleaded no contest to two counts of misdemeanor assault for an altercation at a Cincinnati bar and served 18 days in jail. In 2023, Jones was removed from a flight at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and charged with alcohol intoxication, disorderly conduct, and terroristic threatening. Last year, Jones was arrested at a hotel in Arlington, Texas, after the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing event for public intoxication and assaulting a peace officer.
Jones was the sixth overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft and spent 12 seasons in the league from 2005 to 2018. Eight of those seasons were with the Cincinnati Bengals, along with stints with the Tennessee Titans and Dallas Cowboys. He was an All-Pro selection as a kick returner in 2014 and made the Pro Bowl in 2015 as a cornerback.
The former defensive back has been arrested a stunning 11 times since 2005, earning a reputation for volatile behavior throughout and after his NFL career. Covington sits directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, where Jones spent the majority of his professional football career.