Police: Jonathan Dwyer hit wife, son

PHOENIX -- Arizona Cardinals running back Jonathan Dwyer head-butted his wife and broke her nose after she refused his sexual advances, and punched her in the face the next day, police said Thursday.

The details surfaced Thursday in a law enforcement report a day after Dwyer was arrested on aggravated assault charges and deactivated from all team activities after he was taken into custody at the Cardinals' practice facility and headquarters in Tempe. He spent a night in jail and made a brief court appearance before being released on bail early Thursday.

The arrest came at a time when the NFL and its commissioner, Roger Goodell, are under fire over a series of violent off-the-field encounters involving some of the league's marquee players, including Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy.

The NFL has said the Dwyer case will be reviewed under the league's personal-conduct policy.

Dwyer was arrested Wednesday for investigation in two altercations that occurred on July 21 and 22 at his Phoenix residence, just days before the Cardinals reported to training camp. His wife left the state after the incidents but came forward a week ago after Dwyer apparently sent suicidal text messages including a photo of a knife.

In the first encounter, police say Dwyer attempted to kiss and undress his wife, but she refused. Someone who heard the argument reported the assault to police, who showed up at the apartment but did not make an arrest. Dwyer hid in a bathroom and the wife denied he was in the home because the running back threatened to kill himself in front of her and their child if she told police about the assault, police said.

The next day, Dwyer punched his wife with a closed fist on the left side of her face, according to police. He also punched walls and threw a shoe at his 17-month-old son, who was not injured, police said.

As his wife tried to call police, Dwyer grabbed her cellphone and threw it down from the home's second story. Witnesses told police that Dwyer's wife said, "I'm calling the police," as she held her swollen face and clutched her son.

During his police interview on Wednesday, Dwyer acknowledged hiding in the bathroom when police responded to the first argument and sending a photo of a knife with suicidal threats. Dwyer denied committing an assault, though he acknowledged that he punched walls in his home, threw a phone and that his wife bit his lip during the disputes, according to the police report. As he was released from jail Thursday, he said he never hurt his son.

Dwyer, 25, was booked into Maricopa County Jail on one count of aggravated assault causing a fracture, one count of aggravated assault involving a minor, two counts of criminal damage, one count of preventing the use of a phone in an emergency, and assault.

He was freed on a $25,000 cash bond and ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device. He also cannot have contact with the alleged victims, cannot travel outside of Arizona and cannot have involvement with weapons, drugs or alcohol.

During Dwyer's initial court appearance Wednesday night, defense attorney Jared Allen asked that Dwyer be allowed to leave the state for his job, but a court commissioner denied that request after prosecutor Jay Rademacher said the Cardinals had deactivated Dwyer.

Dwyer is scheduled to have a status hearing on Sept. 24 and a preliminary hearing on Sept. 26.

According to a statement, the Cardinals weren't made aware of the allegations against Dwyer until Wednesday but are fully cooperating.

"Given the serious nature of the allegations we have taken the immediate step to deactivate Jonathan from all team activities," the team said. "We will continue to closely monitor this as it develops and evaluate additional information as it becomes available."

Arizona put Dwyer on the reserve/non-football illness list, the team said Thursday. The move frees up a roster spot for the Cardinals. The decision to pay Dwyer during this time is left up to the team.

Dwyer signed with the Cardinals this year and was their second-string running back after spending the past four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He scored a touchdown last week in Arizona's victory over the New York Giants.

His best year for Pittsburgh was 2012, when injuries depleted the team's backfield in the middle of the season. Dwyer filled in and had 100-yard-plus games in consecutive weeks.

Dwyer, from Marietta, Georgia, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Steelers out of Georgia Tech in 2010.

ESPN.com Cardinals reporter Josh Weinfuss and The Associated Press contributed to this report.