Report: Dallas police conclude Broncos’ Aqib Talib shot himself
Oct 4, 2016, 5:55 PM | Updated: 11:13 pm
The Dallas Police Department has completed an investigation into an early June incident that left Denver Broncos cornerback Aqib Talib with two gunshot wounds to his right leg, according to a report from WFAA-TV.
Rebecca Lopez, a reporter for the local Dallas television station, reported early Tuesday evening that Dallas police concluded Talib’s wounds suffered during the June 5 ordeal were likely self-inflicted and not the work of another party. Lopez also reported Talib would not face any charges.
The investigation had been ongoing since the offseason incident occurred, just a day before President Barack Obama hosted the Broncos at the White House to honor the team’s Super Bowl 50 win. Talib was not in attendance.
Lopez told Sports Radio 104.3 The Fan’s “The Drive” Tuesday that Talib told officers he had been shot at a Dallas-area park by another person, though police “never believed” his version of events that night.
An earlier report from Lopez cited a Dallas PD report indicating that Talib said he was “too intoxicated to remember what happened.”
Aqib Talib told DPD he was at a park when he was shot. “Everything was a blur & I was too intoxicated to remember what happened.”
— Rebecca Lopez (@rlopezwfaa) June 6, 2016
According to 9News Broncos Insider Mike Klis, Talib told people close to him that he did indeed shoot himself in the incident.
Despite no charges pending against Talib, the NFL could still line up discipline for the three-time Pro Bowler.
ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter, on with “The Drive” Tuesday afternoon, said the NFL continues to look into the incident, and “if the facts are what the Dallas Police Department says they are,” he believes the league could wind up disciplining Talib.
Transgressions in Talib’s past could play a factor in if or how severe the league will punish the nine-year veteran, Schefter said.
In 2009, Talib was arrested and booked into the Pinellas County (Florida) jail for allegedly resisting arrest without violence and simple battery. Two years later, the then-Tampa Bay defender was indicted in an incident in which he allegedly pistol-whipped and fired a gun upon his sister’s live-in boyfriend. The charges were later dropped.
Talib has also twice been suspended — four games in 2012 for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy and one game in 2015 after “forcefully poking an opponent in the eye” during the Indianapolis Colts game in Week 8.
However, how long the NFL will take to make a ruling in the case, Schefter said, remains unclear.
Klis reported Tuesday that NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy said the Talib shooting incident “remains under review.”
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy on Aqib Talib shooting incident: “It remains under review.” #9sports
— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) October 4, 2016
Messages left with the Dallas Police Department by 104.3 The Fan were not immediately returned Tuesday evening.
Follow digital content producer Johnny Hart on Twitter: @johnnyhart7.