Seahawks backup offensive tackle Chad Wheeler was arrested early Saturday after allegedly assaulting a woman at an apartment in the Seattle suburb of Kent, according to a police report obtained by The Seattle Times.
Wheeler, who played for the Giants from 2017 to 2019, was still detained in King County Jail as of Monday night, per online court records.
The Kent Police Department’s report details that Wheeler is accused of throwing the woman on a bed, strangling her until she lost consciousness and later picking a lock to the door of the bathroom, where the unidentified woman had fled to call 911 after she regained consciousness.
According to the report, the incident began when Wheeler asked the woman to bow to him. It also said the 27-year-old had not been taking his medication for bipolar disorder.
“We are aware of the situation and still gathering information,” the Seahawks said in a statement to ESPN.
This is not Wheeler’s first run-in with the police for a violent incident. In December 2015 as a student-athlete at USC, Los Angeles Police were called to a scene where an under-the-influence Wheeler was punching walls and windows in an apartment. Police had to shoot him with multiple bean bag rounds when he refused to follow their commands. He was detained but not arrested, and ultimately transported to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Undrafted out of USC in 2017, Wheeler signed a three-year deal with the Giants. He was waived during final roster cuts in August 2019 and reverted to the team’s injured reserve list. Wheeler was then signed to the Seahawks’ practice squad in October 2019.
