NFL

Jonathan Vilma Arrested for Reckless Driving, Resisting Arrest

Posted Jan 17, 2009 12:04PM By Tom Mantzouranis (RSS feed)

Text SizeAAA

Jonathan Vilma has established a pretty good reputation in the football world. He excelled academically as well as on the field as a Miami Hurricane. He's always been known as a team leader, a character guy. And he's got no history of legal trouble. Until now.

Vilma was arrested on Friday night in Miami for reckless driving and resisting arrest after he was spotted swerving in and out of traffic and running a red light, almost taking out two pedestrians along the way. He initially refused to leave his vehicle and became argumentative with police.

What's most puzzling is that alcohol wasn't a factor in impairing Vilma's judgment. A typically stand-up guy simply behaved like an idiot.

Tags: jonathanvilma

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

1-17-2009 @ 1:04PM

horatiowrd said...

well, either he is an idiot and was arguing for no reason or the cops got it wrong and he was arguing cause hes a good guy and therefore did nothing wrong.

why oh why do we always assume the cop is/was right?

1-17-2009 @ 1:17PM

truckcabbie2 said...

ever watch"cops" on fox network?
I've surfed through and caught a few episodes ,from Miami and Tampa.
If ur lookin for a ho,
lookin like a drug user,
or lookin like your black get ready to get hassled.
Glad I do not live there, and based on what I've seen on T.V. and read on the net and newspapers, I'll never visit Florida.

1-17-2009 @ 1:38PM

Deana said...

truckercabbie2...you are aware, correct, that "Cops" is a television show? So called reality TV has very little in common with actual reality. The few snippets of sensationalist television you see bear little resemblance to the 1000's of incidents these policemen deal with on a daily basis.

1-17-2009 @ 3:01PM

knidsrok said...

It's true. Cops are way more well behaved and abuse their power far less when they know it's going to end up on TV.

So far to me, this looks like a likely case of Vilma being pulled over for DWB and taking exception to it.

1-18-2009 @ 11:41PM

truckcabbie2 said...

Yes, I am aware of what T.V. is all about. I also know what protect and serve means as well. I'm a retired cabbie, in my 20 plus years of service I'v had plenty of inter-reaction with the man. All good by the way. But part of that is that I'm a white, clean cut guy that recognizes the value of who has the gun and the law behind them.

I've seem dwb (driving while black) many times. I've never been to Florida, but in my cab I've had people from there or that have just visited. Match all that up(my personal experiences ) with T.V. news, mags, news papers..,... you get my drift I hope.

1-17-2009 @ 3:02PM

Reynolds said...

what a shock,another i aint done nothing wrong black in trouble.i know it ts a racial thing.

1-18-2009 @ 4:13PM

Charles said...

Obviously you are not a minority and have no sense of waht it is to be singled out because of it. so, shut the f*** up

1-18-2009 @ 4:57PM

Me64250 said...

Oh, you act as though you're an authority on police matters. It makes a cracker cop's day to arrest a black man in an expensive car. Odds are they are a professional athlete and they are considered trophies. Who's to say that these allegations are entirely true? AOL wont investigate further to verify if these charges are true so the inflamatory nature of these stories just bring out hateful comments from people like you.

1-17-2009 @ 3:11PM

t said...

Since when is it "resisting arrest" to argue with a cop? And what probable cause did they have for searching his vehicle or trying to force a sobriety test on him(assuming that's why he had to get out of the car)?

I've never seen a traffic stop that required me or anyone i know to "get out of the car".

But, then- i'm not black. Cops are jackasses too often these days. Too much SWAT and too little "Protect and Serve". 99% of police officers NEVER encounter armed assailants, but our society today is full of TV that encourages the "Dirty Harry Mentality" in cops.

Makes me sick. I bet Vilma beats this, and i hope he sues the cop and city. Police officers are public servants, not slave masters. Or, that's how it *should* be...

1-17-2009 @ 4:38PM

Craig said...

99 per cent of police officers NEVER encounter armed assailants? hmmmmmmmmm

1-17-2009 @ 4:16PM

klman2009 said...

Reynolds, shouldn't you be logging off now so you can go on that "hot date" with your illiterate inbred first cousin?

1-17-2009 @ 5:15PM

Haywood Galbreath said...

Tom, who are you to say he acted like an idiot!! I’ve been a working photojournalist for 24 years on the streets not a blogger! I know the insides and outsides I suppose blogger call themselves journalist these days get all the facts man before you make a judgment call. Were you there to know what his behavior was, I don’t think so. As a real journalist !!!!! be more than happy to talk to you about it. A real journalist !!!!! HG

1-17-2009 @ 6:21PM

pluggy64 said...

Actually, I saw a show hosted by a cop suggesting if one is pulled over to stay in the car until proper ID is shown. I can't see staying in your car as resisting arrest. If he led them on a high speed chase and then got out of the car to whoop some cops ass, then it would be resisting

1-17-2009 @ 6:55PM

RichRodHoltzHitler said...

Hey truckcabbie2.. i'm so white ghosts think im a relative... i live in the miami area.... take your redneck comments, cram them up your *ss and do me a favor, like you said, "stay out of my city" jerkoff

1-18-2009 @ 11:47PM

truckcabbie2 said...

Don't get ur panties in a wad, do something about how ur state is perceived.
As for any visit? No worries bro ;-)

1-17-2009 @ 11:08PM

horatiowrd said...

From Nola.com:

Jonathan Vilma plans to challenge the charges of reckless driving and resisting arrest that were brought against him after he was arrested on Friday afternoon in Miami, according to his agent Mitchell Frankel.

According to reports out of Miami, the police report said Vilma was speeding in and out of traffic, ran a red light and became belligerent with officers. He was arrested and booked in Miami-Dade County Jail, and he was later released on bond.

"When it occurred, he didn't know why he was pulled over. Clearly he's going to challenge the charges, and he doesn't agree with them," said Frankel, who said the incident occurred around 3 p.m. and that no alcohol, drugs or firearms were involved.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whose right, whose wrong? I have no idea. Thats not the issue, sure its news and as a Saint fan I want to know (specially about a free agent we are gonna give major money too) so I don't disagree with the story, but assuming he is an idiot just goes too far. If you got pulled over, completely sober and a cop told you you had been speeding, weaving, and ran a red light wouldn't you argue your cause? Especially if you think they were wrong.

Thats all. Its not a racial thing guys (the story, who knows with the cop, not like its never happened) I just think theres this perception that if your an athlete and you so much as get a speeding ticket your an idiot troublemaker. These guys are just guys.

1-18-2009 @ 9:13AM

Dpstang94 said...

the problem here is that I hear alot of people bitching about law enforcement, but I don't see any of you working int eh field. Why don't you quit your 9 to 5 cubical and get a glimpse of the real world folks. See what it is really about then make your comments on how shitty your police protection is. I bet when you get an alarm at your gated subdivision or your wife gets robbed at Publix your will call and expect law enforcement to kiss your ass and make that person pay. A good majority of you people are a joke. Like I said do the job before you run your mouth about it then come talk to me.

1-18-2009 @ 9:51AM

T Amused said...

Hey truckee ! Since you've watched cops on fox, you must have've seen what the rest of us see all the time. Those individuals being detained or arrested are always claiming to be innocent. Going so far as "Swearing to god" that they didnt do it. Even after being told that they were caught on tape they still claim to be innocent. This is a live taped show and I have watched people throw drugs away when the officer wasnt watching. The camera man is standing there taping this and of course "they claim they didnt do it". This should give you a clue as to why most of us believe the cops over the dumb thugs.

1-18-2009 @ 11:58PM

truckcabbie2 said...

You make a valid point. I've seen enough up close and personal to agree with you to a point.

That point, or line if you will comes between a drug/thug/ho/(most of what the cops get to deal with) and a seriously educated man who's only crime MAY be dwb.
I don't know , You don't know. But we both KNOW that being black, or a person of color MIGHT have colored that policeman's perception, and once that's happened,.... need I go on?