Peterson’s father: Officer was disrespectful

Adrian Peterson’s father said one of the arresting officers in his son’s Saturday incident was disrespectful and used vulgar language.

Nelson Peterson, the father of Adrian Peterson, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press that a Houston police officer was disrespectful and used vulgar language when confronting Adrian during an incident that led to his arrest for resisting arrest.

Peterson was arrested when an off-duty police officer told Peterson’s party to leave a Houston nightclub after it had closed early Saturday morning. According to the Houston Police Department, the bouncer identified himself as a police officer, an important element in charges of resisting arrest in Texas.

“From what I’ve gathered, he was very disrespectful to Adrian,” Nelson, who wasn’t present, told the Pioneer Press on Monday.

The charge is a misdemeanor that is likely to lead to a fine, according to NFL.com, but Peterson has hired defense attorney Rusty Hardin, who successfully represented former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens against charges of lying to Congress in a hearing about the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Peterson is scheduled to appear in court Friday.

Nelson said Peterson received a black eye when he hit the ground during his arrest. According to the Houston PD, Peterson shoved the officer in the shoulder, causing him to stumble.

“The officer said he pushed him, shoved him, then why is he not charged with assault?” Nelson said. “Only charged with resisting arrest. Doesn’t make sense.”

Peterson hired Rusty Hardin to defend him on the misdemeanor charge. Hardin defended former MLB pitcher Roger Clemens on charges he lied to Congress about the use of performance-enhancing drugs. Clemens and Hardin won that case.

Peterson’s only public comments on the incident came Sunday via Twitter, posting “Thank you for waiting for the facts. Truth will surface.”

He also tweeted a quote from Winston Churchill: “A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”

Peterson is scheduled to appear in court Friday. He could end up just paying a fine for the misdemeanor and being done with it, according to NFL.com, but the hiring of Hardin suggests he may fight the charge.

Nelson was sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering drug money when Peterson was a teenager, and Nelson told the Pioneer Press he believes his time in prison led to Peterson having a greater respect for the role of parents.

“Adrian is kind of frustrated because he’s the kind of guy who’s tried to do the right things in society and he cares about being a high-character guy,” Nelson said. “He has a 9-year-old daughter, so he doesn’t want her hearing in the news about how he’s being perceived.”

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Tim Yotter is the publisher of Viking Update. Follow Viking Update on Twitter and discuss this topic on our message boards. To become a subscriber to the Viking Update web site or magazine, click here.

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