Grand Jury Clears Cowboys Linebacker Damien Wilson of Aggravated Assault

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Damien Wilson will not go to trial on charges that he backed his truck into a woman and brandished a weapon during a dispute over a parking space on July 4. According to a report from KRLD's L.P. Phillips, a Collin County grand jury declined to indict...

By Stephen Young

October 11, 2017

Damien Wilson Frisco Police Department

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Dallas Cowboys linebacker Damien Wilson will not go to trial on charges that he backed his truck into a woman and brandished a weapon during a dispute over a parking space July 4. According to a report from radio station KRLD's L.P. Phillips, a Collin County grand jury declined to indict Wilson on Tuesday morning on two charges stemming from the incident.

#BREAKING @dallascowboys #DamienWilson cleared of charges in 7/4/17 incident at Toyota Stadium in Frisco. Grand jury returns 2 n-bills. @KRLD
— L.P. Phillips (@lpphillips) October 11, 2017

On the night of July 4, Wilson took part in Frisco's Independence Day festivities in Toyota Stadium's parking lot. When he arrived, he couldn't find a parking spot in the stadium's lot and got into a dispute with a group of tailgaters who were taking up several spaces.

According to a police report, Wilson then backed into a woman standing in one of the spaces and brandished a rifle at a man, "causing him to be in fear." Wilson told police that "road rage" caused him to grab his gun from his truck.

Rather than filing charges with the Collin County District Attorney, Frisco police sent the case to the grand jury, which did not charge Wilson.

The Cowboys selected Wilson, a University of Minnesota product, in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played in every game during the 2016 season, leading the Cowboys to plan a bigger role for him in 2017. This year, however, Wilson has struggled, racking up just 11 tackles and a single pass deflection through five games. Although he was cleared of all criminal charges, Wilson remains subject to the NFL's disciplinary policy, which allows NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to punish a player however he sees fit if he determines there is credible evidence that the player did something criminal.

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