DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – Cleveland Browns defensive tackle Malik McDowell is wearing his birthday suit — not a football uniform — when he’s seen rushing a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy in a new video obtained by Local 10 News.
McDowell stood before a Broward judge on Tuesday, a day after authorities said he was spotted outside a Deerfield Beach children’s learning center completely naked before the attack of the deputy.
McDowell, 25, faces charges of aggravated battery of an officer, resisting an officer with violence and exposing his sexual organs in public. A judge found probable cause for the charges during McDowell’s first court appearance.
Authorities say The Learning Experience on Hillsboro Technology Drive was in session when McDowell walked onto the property in the buff Monday.
The learning center — which caters to children 6 months to 6 years old — went into a brief lockdown, with Nan Zamora of the company saying they saw “a gentleman roaming the parking lot without any clothing on. And he seemed to be not himself.”
According to an arrest report, a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy approached McDowell, who was sitting on a curb, and McDowell cursed at the deputy and then charged him with a closed fist.
“The defendant intentionally rammed his body into me and began swinging closed fist punches at me,” the deputy wrote in the report. “The punches were swung with extreme aggression with at least one strike hitting me on my right eye/temple area of my eye.”
The deputy said McDowell continued to hit him before running away. He was caught and the deputy used a stun gun to take him down, the arrest report said.
The deputy said his right eye was nearly closed because of swelling from the punches he absorbed in the attack and there is a “likelihood that I sustained permanent injury to my eye.” He also reported feeling “immediate and extreme pain” in his left heel/Achilles.
A prosecutor said Tuesday that the deputy has continued to have trouble walking since the incident.
An attorney representing McDowell said in the virtual court appearance that “somebody may have slipped him something or given him something that he wasn’t aware of, which explains some of this bizarre behavior.”
The judge ordered McDowell not to return to the learning center. Bail was posted at $25,000 and he was released from jail Tuesday night.
“We are aware of the very concerning incident and arrest involving Malik McDowell and are in the process of gathering more information,” the Browns said in a statement. “We understand the severity of this matter and our thoughts are for the well-being of all involved. We will have no further comment at this time.”
The 6-foot-6, 290-pound McDowell appeared in 15 games (14 starts) for Cleveland this season, his first playing in the NFL, finishing with 19 solo tackles and three sacks.
The Michigan native was a second-round pick of the Seattle Seahawks in 2017 out of Michigan State, but he was sidelined by an ATV accident before taking the field that year. He then faced multiple legal issues, including an 11-month stay in a Michigan jail.
In 2019, McDowell was charged with assault, resisting arrest and operating a vehicle while intoxicated. In a video capturing the incident, McDowell fought two police officers even after they used a stun gun on him.
