PITTSBURGH -- A judge on Monday dismissed charges of simple assault and resisting arrest against Steelers kicker Jeff Reed, who was accused of raising his fists at a Pittsburgh police officer when ordered back in his vehicle as police dealt with a teammate.
The two misdemeanor charges dismissed by state District Judge Richard King at Reed's preliminary hearing were the most serious he faced. King postponed for six weeks a decision on whether to hold Reed for trial on charges of disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.
King directed Reed to perform 40 hours of community service and said he would consider dropping the two summary charges if Reed complies.
The judge said that "something was there" between Reed and police on Oct. 18, 2009, several hours after the Steelers beat Cleveland 27-14, but that it didn't rise to the level of simple assault or resisting arrest.
King suggested the conflict could have been avoided if Reed hadn't felt the need to "butt in" when police were preparing to cite Reed's teammate, backup tight end Matt Spaeth, for allegedly urinating in a parking lot near Heinz Field.
Reed declined to comment, but his attorney, Robert DelGreco Jr., said Reed has been humbled.
"It hurts him that there are people out there that might think that he squared up and wanted to fight cops, or actually fought cops. That's not Jeff Reed," DelGreco said.
During the roughly half-hour hearing, three Pittsburgh police officers gave testimony at odds with an account given at DelGreco's request by an off-duty state trooper who was there.
King said he wanted Reed to do community service because the fines for the summary offenses -- $300 on each count -- would essentially be meaningless to Reed.
DelGreco said while the money wasn't the issue, Reed could face more serious sanctions from the NFL if he were to be found guilty. He didn't have details.
It was Reed's second arrest last year. He paid $543 in fines and restitution after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and criminal mischief for damaging a paper towel dispenser in a Pittsburgh-area convenience store bathroom in February, a few weeks after the Steelers won the Super Bowl.
Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press
