The Baltimore County Police investigation connected to Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers has been “suspended” without criminal charges, according to documents the department released Tuesday.
The investigation, which is effectively closed, could be reopened if there is any additional information, according to a note dated Friday.
Identifying information in the report has been redacted, but it indicates Flowers declined through an attorney to be interviewed by police.
The documents confirm earlier Baltimore Sun reporting about an alleged victim’s report to police in Acton, Massachusetts. She told officers there was a “violent domestic incident” in Owings Mills on Jan. 16, in which the “suspect’s brother also drew a firearm.” She declined to name the suspect, other than to say he is an “NFL player” and that they were “all over social media” as a couple.
She told police in Massachusetts she was “physically assaulted” and left with “multiple bruises,” according to the Baltimore County report. In that interview, the alleged victim said “she was living with her boyfriend in a townhouse outside Baltimore, Maryland, when the incident became physical and violent” and that he had “trashed all her stuff and her belongings.” She also repeatedly asked about the consequences of filing a police report and whether criminal charges would “automatically” be filed.
The alleged victim stated that “it was a really bad 10 minutes, but [she] hasn’t been scared since,” according to the report. It also noted her father, who accompanied the alleged victim to speak with police, was “worried about the s— storm that is going to follow.” She didn’t take Acton Police up on an offer of a protective order.
Acton Police wrote in their report the name of the person who they believed was the suspect, but Baltimore County police redacted the name from their report.
According to the case report, Baltimore County police reached the alleged victim Jan. 30 by phone about the report she’d made in Massachusetts. She reportedly said there were “no further issues” and did not “disclose any further details relating to the original report.”
The report also confirms the investigation’s link to a 911 call on Jan. 16. A recording of Baltimore County police dispatch audio from that day, previously reviewed by The Sun, included a 911 dispatcher advising officers of the 12-second call and remarking that the caller seemed “in distress.” Notes in the 911 county’s system, quoted in the police report, said she “was crying” when she hung up. In the audio reviewed by The Sun, the female caller is asked if she has an emergency and responds, “No, that’s OK. Thank you.”
Police identified the call as coming from the townhouse building where Flowers has owned a home since last year, records show. The precise address identified by police from the call, however, was of a unit below the one Flowers owns. An officer dispatched to the scene a short time later on Jan. 16 spoke with a woman via a doorbell camera. That woman said she had not called the police; it’s not clear whether that woman was the alleged victim or someone else.
The alleged victim told Acton Police that after her 911 call, officers showed up outside the Owings Mills residence for about two hours, but didn’t come in. She said, according to a summary of the Acton Police body camera footage of the interview, that as a result of the police presence, “the brother got scared, put the gun away, and that is what really made it stop.”
She also told police she had photos of her bruises, though she did not share those photos, according to the report.
At one point during the Acton Police interview, the alleged victim received a call and told police that it was “his agent,” the report said. She asked if she could take it and the officer suggested she should “think about her overall wellbeing and safety.” She didn’t answer the call, according to the report.
Flowers is represented by the agency Loyalty Above All. His representatives, Zac Hiller and Eric Dounn, did not respond Tuesday to messages seeking comment.
The Ravens declined to comment Tuesday, instead referring to their statement from earlier this month: “We take these matters seriously and will have no further comment at this time.”
An NFL spokesperson said Tuesday that league officials “are monitoring all developments in the matter, which remains under review.”
It remains to be seen if Flowers will face discipline from the league. NFL players who do not face criminal charges still can be suspended without pay.
“It is not enough simply to avoid being found guilty of a crime in a court of law,” the NFL’s personal conduct policy states. “We are all held to a higher standard and must conduct ourselves in a way that is responsible, promotes the values of the NFL, and is lawful.”
The NFL suspended Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith in 2018 for four games for violating the league’s personal conduct policy after the NFL found evidence of “threatening and emotionally abusive behaviors” toward his former girlfriend, according to a statement from the Ravens at the time. In that case, a woman had filed a petition in Baltimore County Circuit Court alleging that Smith had a “history of being physically violent.”Smith went on to play 12 games that season and remained with Baltimore the next three seasons before retiring.
Since former Ravens running back Ray Rice was cut in 2014 after he was seen on video assaulting his then-fiancee, Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti has expressed concern about working with players involved in such cases. For instance, Bisciotti said in 2017 that there were some players who the Ravens would not select in the NFL draft.
“Categorically, yeah, domestic abuse, we’re not taking them. Kansas City is in the playoffs partly because of a guy they took a chance on,” said Bisciotti, alluding to then-Chiefs’ player Tyreek Hill. “Will we take chances like that again? I don’t think so.”
In Hill’s case, he pleaded guilty to domestic assault and was sentenced to three years of probation.
Flowers appears to have had several endorsem*nt deals disrupted by the allegations against him, including with Pizza Boli’s, a Pikesville-based pizzeria, and Bath & Body Works.
Flowers was the Ravens’ first-round pick out of Boston College. He became a fan favorite this season as the speedy wide receiver racked up a team-best 77 receptions and 858 receiving yards, both of which are rookie records for the team. He caught touchdowns in the Ravens’ key December wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins.
Four days after the 911 call from his home, he played in the Ravens’ Jan. 20 victory over the Houston Texans. A week after that, he had a season-high 115 receiving yards, plus a touchdown, in the Ravens’ loss in the AFC title game to the Chiefs. He also was flagged in that game for taunting an opponent and later fumbled at the goal line. That cost the Ravens a chance to score in the fourth quarter and prompted Flowers to slam his hand on a bench, causing one of his fingers to bleed.
The Ravens, who won an NFL-best 13 games in 2023, will begin their 2024 season in September. The NFL scouting combine — a key event ahead of April’s NFL draft — will take place next week in Indianapolis.
Baltimore Sun reporter Brian Wacker contributed to this article.
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