WESTLAKE, Ohio – The Westlake police who arrested Cleveland Browns players Rashard Higgins and Jedrick Wills told Higgins that “it would be very bad” if there was news about a joint that the officers found in the Higgins SUV, according to the video from the dashcam released on Wednesday.
Police cited Wills, 21, and Higgins, 26, for a drag race, a first-degree misdemeanor, on Tuesday morning. Lawyers for both men pleaded not guilty in writing on their behalf on Wednesday.
Higgins was not charged with possession of marijuana. The policemen threw the joint on the floor and told Higgins to step on it and kick the remains of a nearby sewer grate.
Westlake police captain Gerry Vogel said in an e-mail that the policeman knew who the two players were, but he treated them like anyone else.
“It is common practice to allow the offender to destroy a small amount of what could be marijuana instead of investigating the matter further,” said Vogel. “There was a change in the sense of not citing people for this minor offense. “
The incident came less than two days after the Browns made their first playoff appearance in 18 years. Browns coach Kevin Stefanski said on Wednesday that he had talked to his players about the matter.
“We take care of that,” he said at a Zoom conference. “I discussed this with the team. I’ll leave it at that. “
The incident happened around 9:30 am on Tuesday at Crocker Road, near Coventry Drive. Police reports provide few details of the incident, including the speed with which the two were driving.
The camera video shows a speeding officer on Crocker Road. The two SUVs – Higgins ‘Jeep Cherokee and Wills’ Dodge Durango – were driving side by side on the two-lane road.
Higgins stopped on a side street and stopped. The officer told Higgins that his car smelled like marijuana and Higgins said he smoked the day before. The officer asked if Higgins had anything on him, and Higgins apparently said he didn’t.
The officer sought out Higgins and found a joint in his pocket. Higgins told the officer that he forgot he had it.
The officers spent about four minutes looking for Higgins’ SUV and found nothing.
“I’ll be fine with you,” said the officer to Higgins. “I’m not going to squeeze you into the joint you had [you] there is. Because that would be very bad for the press. You will get the drag race ticket and that’s it. “
Higgins said something to the officer, who replied, “You are better than that. You are celebrities around here. You don’t want it to make the news. “
The officers and Higgins talked about how former Browns runner Williams Green was stabbed in 2003 in the same neighborhood.
The policeman told Higgins that they were speeding by the construction workers and said to him: “You need to use your head, okay?”
Mary Kay Cabot, a reporter for The Plain Dealer, contributed to this report.
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