Police video of NFL passing game coordinator Todd Downing has been released, showing him trying to make a deal with officers, telling them about death threats leveled against his family, and admitting he had “a victory beer in Green Bay” during his arrest last year.
Downing, who was the offensive coordinator for the Tennessee Titans at the time, was arrested on Nov. 17 near Nashville after being pulled over by a Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) trooper for speeding in excess of 100 mph following the Titans’ winning game against the Green Bay Packers, according to the New York Post.
According to the THP, Downing was “hauling ass” and was going “easily over 100″ in a black Mercedes. When he was pulled over, Downing explained to the officers that he was in a panicked rush to get home because he was told his family had been on the receiving end of a death threat.
In the video published by TMZ, Downing can be heard telling the THP that he had just landed in Nashville after the game that was played in Lambeau Field in Green Bay, and he learned about the death threats.
“I got a death threat tonight, and the Franklin police are outside my house and I was trying to get home to my family,” he is heard saying.
Downing denied it, but the officer said he felt that Downing had been drinking because of the odor of alcohol and Downing’s slurred speech.
Downing is seen performing a sobriety test where he ultimately admitted he was drinking and had “a victory beer in Green Bay.”
“I never meant to go reckless, I’m just worried about my family,” he added.
The officer was not all that sympathetic, of course. “Here’s the deal, I think you’ve had entirely too much to drink tonight to be behind the wheel of a car,” he told the NFL staffer.
Downing was handcuffed and placed in a squad car, where he then called someone at the Titans, and it appears that he called Titans GM Jon Robinson.
The person that Downing called confirmed to the officer that Downing’s family had, indeed, received a death threat on social media.
Tennessee Titans offensive coordinator Todd Downing during an NFL game at NRG Stadium on January 09, 2022, in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
“There had been some social media stuff… he’s telling the truth about that,” the voice on the phone told the officer.
Downing pleaded with the officer to offer him some “grace,” but the trooper firmly replied, “That’s just not how we operate.”
He was booked in the Williamson County Jail at 4:30 a.m. and released a few hours later. He eventually served a 48-hour jail sentence in Jan. for the offense.
Downing was not disciplined by the team and didn’t miss any games, but the team did cease his employment contract early this year. He is now with the New York Jets.
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