ITKAlabama cornerback Cyrus Jones was arrested on an allegation of domestic violence where there was no physical contact. The only victim was a cell phone.

In a statement, Nick Saban said:

“We don’t ever condone any kind of behavior that shows disrespect. There was no physical contact in this situation. Once we get the facts, we will take the necessary steps to correct this behavior in the future.”

It’s floating out there that Jones called the police himself to avoid something like this from happening. But domestic cases are tricky. Overwhelmingly, most of the time if the cops are called, due to liability issues if something does occur, someone is getting arrested, and usually it’s the man.

Was the Tuscaloosa Police arrest happy? Who knows. But it’s also out there that Coach Saban is ticked about the incident, and not at Cyrus. Interpret that one how you will.

I chuckled as I read this somewhere this morning:

“This may be out of context, but it’s odd to see a person burn a stolen police car in the middle of the street on national TV with no arrest on Monday, and then on Wednesday a person gets arrested for doing damage to a cell phone. Maybe the guy Monday night didn’t actually threaten anyone.”

You won’t find a bigger advocate for law enforcement than me, but where things are going in our country, with allegations of police brutality and minorities distrusting the cops, it’s a real and serious problem. But you might not find a more trigger happy unit when it comes to arrests than the Tuscaloosa PD.

I’ll never forget former runningback Glen Coffee being taken in for yelling on the strip. Or Simeon Castille arrested for allegedly “horsing around with other players” which led to a disorderly conduct charge. Or Tony Brown for a similar incident last spring. Or Rashaad Johnson, who was assaulted by a bouncer, yet was the one arrested. Granted, this should send a message to any student, white, black or athlete. If you want to avoid trouble, stay far away from it. But come on.

You can see why African-Americans don’t trust the authorities. Jonathan Taylor’s accuser has recanted her story yet his future as a football player remains permanently altered. And maybe it should be. His case is on the upper side of the slippery slope.

And who knows. Maybe Tuscaloosa’s police department has to be trigger happy in order to maintain control. I will say, I went to school there, and as a white male, I remember my experiences with them well. No real trouble, but there was a definite commitment to protect, serve, and, sometimes, provoke. And from my personal interaction with the TPD through the years, they don’t seem to have a collective view of the football program as a proprietary opportunity for the community. It’s certainly not the relationship Tallahassee police have with FSU, where the department just got a good ‘ole laugh when Jameis Winston, on camera, stole his lunch from a Publix.

When this story is finished this one will be forgotten and Cyrus will likely play every down next season for the Tide. I’m not going to pretend to worry about this one. Especially with the Braxton Miller news just around the bend.

But if Miller does make it to T-town, someone please give him a heads up about the Tuscaloosa PD. That unit doesn’t have to work hard to find something to do.


(Follow ITK on Twitter for Bama news, commentary and smack.)

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