CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Police Department on Friday refiled a criminal charge of aggravated menacing against the Cincinnati Bengals’ Joe Mixon, according to a press release from the department.
CPD said the decision was made after discovering new evidence during the investigation. It’s a misdemeanor of the first degree, the highest level of a misdemeanor.
On Feb. 2, the charges were initially filed, stemming from an alleged road-rage incident on Jan. 21, and Mixon was accused of pointing a gun at a woman. He reportedly also told the woman, “You should be popped in the face and I should shoot you.”
The charges were then dropped the next day, allowing CPD to further the investigation.
At the time of the dismissal, Judge Curt Kissinger said that the charge “could possibly” be refiled.
Mixon has been summoned to appear in court April 19, according to court documents.
“To preserve a fair and impartial judicial process for all parties involved, no investigatory details or evidence will be disclosed outside of official court proceedings,” CPD said in a statement.
A statement issued Friday by the Bengals said they were aware of the charge and were “monitoring the situation.” The team said it would have no further comment.
As CPD continued the investigation into the January incident, Mixon was then at the center of another altercation. On March 6, Mixon’s sister’s boyfriend allegedly shot a teenage boy from Mixon’s yard on Ayers Road. The prosecutor in the case claimed that while Mixon had been armed at the time, he didn’t fire his weapon or do anything illegal. The case is still pending.
Mixon rushed for 814 yards and seven touchdowns this season, his sixth. He also had 60 receptions for 441 yards, both career highs, and two touchdowns.
In 2021, he had rushed for career highs of 1,205 yards and 13 touchdowns for Cincinnati, where he has spent his entire career.
Mixon was a second-round draft pick out of Oklahoma in 2017. Several teams said they passed on him because of concerns about his character after Mixon punched a female Oklahoma student in the face in 2014.
He was suspended from the football team for a year and entered an Alford plea, in which a defendant does not admit guilt but acknowledges there is enough evidence for a conviction. He received a deferred sentence and was ordered to perform community service and undergo counseling.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
