Broncos LB Jonathon Cooper pleads not guilty to misdemeanor domestic violence charge
Denver Broncos linebacker Jonathon Cooper pleaded not guilty on Monday to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.
Both Cooper and his long-term girlfriend were arrested on Thursday night after an alleged incident. They were both charged with criminal mischief as a crime of domestic violence, though Cooper is facing a misdemeanor-level charge and his girlfriend a petty-level offense, according to The Denver Post.
Cooper pleaded not guilty to the charge in court on Monday. A motions hearing was scheduled for July 6, and a jury trial is expected to start on July 22.
Cooper’s attorney said they don’t plan to file any motion to dismiss, and want to have a jury trial “as early as possible.” The Broncos’ training camp is set to start in the last week of July.
The incident on Thursday started after an argument broke out in which Cooper’s longtime girlfriend alleged that he was cheating on her, according to the affidavit. The girlfriend claimed to have taken Cooper’s phone and thrown it across the room, and then went to retrieve it so she could look through it.
At that point, however, the two stories differ. Cooper told police he grabbed his girlfriend by her upper arm and took the phone back. He also said that he “braced his neck against her neck” to prevent her from getting it back, and he said he threatened to break her phone if she didn’t leave his apartment, per The Denver Post. Both arrest affidavits said that Cooper bit her phone after she didn’t leave.
His girlfriend, however, told police that Cooper “grabbed her by the neck” and held her up against the wall. She also said that Cooper picked her up and threw her back on the ground several times, and punched the wall “next to her face,” per the report.
Officers did note in the affidavit that her injuries didn’t quite match her claims, and “did not appear consistent with a larger male lifting [her] up into the air by her throat as well as repeatedly being thrown to the ground.”
Cooper had 50 total tackles and eight sacks last season, his fifth with the Broncos. He helped the Broncos defense lead the league with a franchise-record 68 total sacks last season, too. Cooper, who the Broncos selected in the seventh round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Ohio State, signed a four-year, $60 million extension with the team in 2024.
The Broncos said they were “aware of the matter and are gathering more information” in a statement on Friday.
“I apologize to my family to my friends and my community … And so many others.” Cooper put on his Instagram story on Saturday, via ESPN, while adding a bible verse.
“I realize posting a bible [quote] after something very serious happens does not just mean everything is okay.”
