Former Giant allegedly rams cop car during pursuit, busted with heroin
Football players are well known for laying the smackdown on their opponents during the beautiful brutality that is an NFL game.
One football player, however, just gave new meaning to the term “lay the smack down.”
Barry Cofield, a key figure in the New York Giants’ Super Bowl XLII win over the otherwise undefeated New England Patriots, was arrested in Florida on heroin charges Tuesday.
Police in Lake Mary said they found the 34-year-old Cofield passed out behind the wheel of his Cadillac Escalade at 2:30 a.m.; he had his foot jammed on the brake, blocking an intersection in the process.
When a deputy tried moving his car in front of the Cadillac to secure the scene, Cofield came to, took off and led the police on a merry chase through the steamy witching hours of a Sunshine State summer night.
A Seminole County deputy described the chase as one in which Cofield “did not stop, but did not take evasive maneuvers to avoid me.”
Cofield did a passable Kyle Busch impression in his own way, according to police, bouncing off a parked car before he got cornered near a gated subdivision.
At that point, when the officers again moved to cut him off and stop him, Cofield allegedly rammed a patrol car before being forced to stop.
The former defensive lineman ignored commands to get out of the vehicle, according to police.
This did not endear Cofield to the deputies, who gained Cofield’s egress through the useful expedient of smashing his windows.
Cofield then, realizing what was afoot, exited his vehicle and surrendered.
It was at that point that police say they discovered two bags of a red substance that turned out to be heroin, along with discovering the unmistakable smell of booze on Cofield’s breath.
Cofield refused a Breathalyzer test.
He was booked into the Seminole County jail, charged with … get ready, this is a long list …
Possession of heroin, fleeing and eluding, aggravated assault on a police officer, refusing to submit to a breath test, and careless driving.
That last seems a bit like getting a guy for jaywalking after he crossed the street to shoot a guy, but nobody can accuse the police of not being thorough.
Cofield was drafted by the Giants in 2006 and played a nine-year career in New York and Washington before hanging up his spikes in 2015. He recorded 19.5 sacks in total.
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