CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Jermaine Burton was allegedly involved in a domestic dispute where he choked and hit his ex-girlfriend, according to an incident report filed by police and obtained by ESPN on Thursday.
On Dec. 30, Burton allegedly broke into the home of a woman he was seeing hours after the two had been out drinking at 1 a.m., according to an emergency call made to Cincinnati police at 8 a.m.
The woman, 19, told police that Burton choked her in the hallway of her apartment complex. She also said Burton broke into her residence, grabbed a knife from her dishwasher, held it to his own neck and threatened to kill himself. She told police that Burton then broke her phone and left.
According to the police incident report, obtained by ESPN through an open records request, the woman declined to file charges. Burton’s agent did not respond to an attempt by ESPN for a comment.
In the call to the police dispatcher, the woman told officers that it was not an isolated incident.
“This is the second time he’s broken my phone in the past month,” the woman said. “He broke my phone and hit me and he left.”
Burton, a rookie, did not travel with the team to its regular-season finale against the Pittsburgh Steelers because of a coach’s decision, which coach Zac Taylor confirmed after the game.
“We will continue to evaluate as we gather additional details and will have no further comment at this time,” the Bengals said in a statement given to ESPN on Thursday.
The woman told police they had been seeing each other since September. However, she alleged Burton had been “pretty abusive.” In her call to police, she said the incident on Dec. 30 resulted from her refusing to “show him an old Tweet.”
She also told police that on Dec. 21, the two were drinking alcohol at his residence when Burton allegedly pushed her down a set of stairs. The police were not notified at the time but filed a separate incident in which Burton threatened self-harm.
Burton was a third-round pick out of Alabama. Even before the Bengals drafted him, there were questions about Burton’s conduct. In 2022, a video posted to social media showed Burton striking a woman in the head as she stormed the field following Tennessee’s win over Alabama.
“It was something that we talked about with him just to hear what he had to say about it,” Taylor said last April. “We did our research on all these guys that we’ve talked to and made sure we’re aware of every incident they’ve been a part of.”
The latest incident comes after Burton’s previous landlord filed an eviction notice and civil lawsuit against him on Dec. 23 for lack of payment. The lawsuit also seeks $10,000 for damages “beyond ordinary wear and tear.”
Burton is coming off a disappointing rookie season. Despite being featured in the gameplan in the days leading up to the game, he was a healthy scratch for a Week 9 win over the Las Vegas Raiders after missing a walkthrough before the game, sources told ESPN at the time.
While he eventually became the team’s starting kick returner, his offensive snaps dwindled. In 14 games this season, he finished with four catches for 107 receiving yards.
ESPN investigative reporter Paula Lavigne contributed to this report.
