Dallas police punt Johnny Manziel case to grand jury

After three weeks of investigating a complaint against Johnny Manziel by his former girlfriend, Dallas police said Thursday that they are turning the case over to the district attorney’s office with the expectation that it will be presented to a grand jury.

Colleen Crowley of Fort Worth told police that Manziel, a former Texas A&M star quarterback who now plays for the Cleveland Browns, assaulted her on Jan. 30 at an Uptown Dallas hotel and while driving her to her TCU-area apartment.

Dallas police released a statement late Thursday afternoon that they had completed their investigation and had referred a case of Class A misdemeanor assault/domestic violence to the district attorney’s office.

But instead of arresting Manziel, the department has elected to let a grand jury review the evidence and decide whether or not to indict Manziel.

The department “will not release any details of the investigation while it is pending grand jury presentation,” the news release said.

The announcement came a day after Dallas Police Association President Ron Pinkston told The Dallas Morning News that the department “is in chaos,” which was delaying resolution of the Manziel case. Dallas police issued a statement Thursday morning disputing Pinkston’s assertion.

On Saturday, Dallas police had called a press conference to tell the media that detectives were still investigating the case. A spokesman said that investigators obtained surveillance video as well as medical records from Crowley.

Crowley said Manziel hit, dragged and threatened her during overnight hours on Jan. 30. She said he slapped her ear so hard it ruptured her eardrum, according to previous reports. He left her at her Fort Worth apartment and police were called. She told officers something about what happened and that she was worried about his well-being, according to Fort Worth police. While trying to contact him and find him, police used a helicopter to search for him before determining that he was safe.

Jack Strickland, a former longtime Tarrant County prosecutor who is not involved in the Manziel case, said Thursday that it’s rare for a misdemeanor case to be sent to the district attorney’s office with no arrest being made. Strickland said police may have “passed the buck” because Johnny Manziel is, well, Johnny Manziel. “Maybe they want to put the monkey on the back of the grand jury,” he said.

But Strickland also offered another perspective.

“Maybe it’s because they think it’s the fair thing to do,” he said. “For an ordinary person, it’s usually not the end of the world if they get arrested for a misdemeanor, but it’s different in the case of Manziel. Think of the impact, financially and on his career, if he got a misdemeanor charge or conviction.”

If a grand jury does not indict him — what’s known as a “no bill” — Manziel won’t have an arrest record and there will be no booking mug.

Also, Strickland said, Dallas prosecutors could refuse the case or could issue an arrest warrant without presenting the case to the grand jury.

This report includes material from Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published February 25, 2016 at 5:06 PM with the headline "Dallas police punt Johnny Manziel case to grand jury."