Body camera footage released by Miami Beach police shows Kerley arguing with a group of officers late Thursday before a physical confrontation began. Kerley, 29, was wrestled to the ground, where an officer hit him several times and then used a Taser on the sprinter, police said.
According to an arrest report, officers were investigating an unrelated police scene when Kerley approached the area and attempted to force his way into his vehicle, which was parked nearby. Officers told Kerley to walk around the area, but Kerley began arguing with them, leading to a scuffle with police.
Authorities said four officers attempted to detain Kerley while he continued to evade arrest. After being stunned by the Taser, Kerley was taken to a local hospital and then to the Miami-Dade County Jail.
Kerley was charged with battery, resisting an officer and disorderly conduct.
He appeared in a bond hearing Friday, where defense attorney Yale Sanford criticized the police officers at the scene.
“It seems like a complete misunderstanding,” Sanford said, according to the WPLGTVthe ABC affiliate in Miami. “Mr. Kerley is a record-setting athlete. He has served in track and field for the United States at the Olympics. [team]. He is an exemplary citizen in our community. This is nothing more than police excess.”
Sanford claimed the incident was “a gross abuse of any reasonable force by the officers.”
USA Track & Field, the national governing body for track and field in the United States, declined to comment.
Kerley won a silver medal for the 100 meters at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and a bronze medal for the same event at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. He has also won six medals at the World Championships.
This report used information from The Associated Press.