A well-known United States sprinter was involved in an ugly incident this week with police officers.
TMZ Sports released video on Friday of 2024 Olympic medalist Fred Kerley being arrested and tased by police in Miami, Fla. on Thursday. The Miami Beach Police Department told TMZ that Kerley approached them with an “aggressive demeanor” as they were involved in an “active” and unrelated police scene. Kerley reportedly expressed concern about his car which was parked nearby and then allegedly became “argumentative.”
The video seemingly showed the sprinter then exchanging pushes with an officer, which led to Kerley getting taken to the ground by several other officers and then being tasered as he attempted to get up.
You can see the full video at the link here. An excerpt of the body-cam footage of the incident can also be viewed below.
Here’s Miami Beach Police body camera footage of the takedown and Tasering of Olympic sprinter Fredrick Kerley on South Beach last night, before he was taken to jail on charges of battery on an officer and other offenses. @wsvn #1stOn7 https://t.co/Q6jBhcU1a2 pic.twitter.com/Js7RG2nRHY
— Sheldon Fox-7 News (@fox_sheldon) January 3, 2025
Kerley was ultimately arrested and booked on three charges, including battery on a police officer. He is expected to face a judge over the matter soon, TMZ adds.
The 29-year-old Kerley is one of the top sprinters in the world and is fresh off a bronze-medal victory at the Paris Olympic Games last summer in the men’s 100-meter race (finishing behind fellow American Noah Lyles and Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson). He also won silver in the men’s 100m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (behind France’s Marcell Jacobs) and has another six career medals in the World Championships (including once winning the title of Fastest Man in the World with a gold in the 100m at the 2022 Worlds). Kerley was also one of the runners featured on the Netflix show “Sprint.”
A native of Texas, Kerley began his career as a 400m runner but has since dropped down to focus on the 100m. With a personal best of 9.76 seconds in the 100m, he owns the 15th-fastest time ever among all sprinters.
