The Associated Press
Former Baltimore Ravens star Ray Rice has been suspended indefinitely by the NFL and the league has launched an examination of how it pursued and handled evidence after he was arrested for assaulting his fiancee in February.
Here’s a timeline of the events in the case.
Saturday, Feb. 15: Rice and his then-fiancee get into an altercation at the Revel Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Police complaint says that Rice “attempted to cause bodily injury to (Palmer), specifically by striking her with his hand, rendering her unconscious.” The complaint against Palmer says that she attempted “to cause bodily injury to (Rice), specifically by striking him with her hand.”
A police statement says both refused medical attention. Both were charged with simple assault-domestic violence, and released on a summons to appear in court. Michael Diamondstein, an attorney for Rice, says that he’s hopeful that “the matter turns out to be little more than a misunderstanding.”
Feb. 17: Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome says that he’s waiting to get all the details before deciding what action to take, if any.
Feb. 19: TMZ Sports publishes security video showing Rice dragging a motionless Palmer out of an elevator. Atlantic County prosecutors review the case and charges are later dropped against Palmer.
March 27: Grand jury indicts Rice on third-degree aggravated assault charge. Diamondstein says Rice denies the charge and that the couple are happy and in counseling. The Ravens issued a statement saying “we know there is more to Ray Rice than this one incident.”
March 28: Rice and Palmer marry.
May 1: Rice pleads not guilty and applies for the state’s pretrial intervention program. Prosecutors also offered him a plea bargain to spare him jail time in exchange for anger management counseling. He could have faced three to five years if convicted.
Palmer indicates she does not want the case to proceed. But prosecutor Diane Ruberton said that she was “confident with the evidence we have that I could secure a conviction at trial, with or without her.” Ruberton said prosecutors have additional video evidence beyond what was published by TMZ.
May 20: Rice receives initial approval to enter into the pretrial intervention program. The intervention program allows first-time offenders to have charges against them dismissed.
May 23: Rice and his wife both apologize for their role in the incident while addressing the media.
July 16: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell meets with Rice and Palmer in New York.
July 24: Rice suspended two games by NFL for domestic violence.
July 31: Rice says: “I let so many people down because of 30 seconds of my life that I know I can’t take back.”
Aug. 28: After Goodell drew criticism not being tough enough on Rice, he tells the NFL owners that he “didn’t get it right.” First-time domestic violence offenders now face a six-game suspension.
Sept. 8: TMZ Sports releases video from inside of the Revel elevator that shows Rice and Palmer hitting each other before Rice knocks Palmer off her feet and into a railing. Rice let go by Ravens and suspended indefinitely by the NFL.
–In a higher-quality video shown to The Associated Press by a law enforcement official, Rice and Palmer can be heard shouting obscenities at each other. After she collapses, he drags her out of the elevator and is met by some hotel staff. One of them can be heard saying, “She’s drunk, right?” And then, “No cops.” The video was shown to the AP on condition of anonymity because the official isn’t authorized to release it.
–After the video is released, the Ravens cut Rice. “It’s something we saw for the first time today, all of us,” coach John Harbaugh said. “It changed things, of course.”
Sept. 10: Law enforcement officer tells The Associated Press that he sent an NFL executive a video in April that showed Rice striking Palmer. He played a 12-second voicemail from an NFL office number on April 9 confirming the video arrived.
–The NFL called in former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III to examine how it pursued and handled evidence in the Ray Rice domestic violence case as pressure increased for the league to be more transparent about its original investigation.
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