The Florida woman, who went viral over a neighborhood row with NFL legend Terrell Owens, has been accused of knowingly giving police false information about the Aug. 3 racial confrontation.
Caitlin Davis, a white 38-year-old, was charged with the second-degree misdemeanor last week and is due to return to a Broward County courtroom on December 6, according to records from . It remains unclear exactly what she is accused of lying, but she said Owens was driving dangerously.
According to the reporter’s statement obtained by , she was unable to substantiate her allegations.
“He got out of his car and started harassing me,” Davis told officers as Owens recorded the scene on his phone while mockingly referring to her as “Karen.”
“But you didn’t have to get out of your damn car,” she yelled at Owens.
Owens replied, “You didn’t have to talk to me like that either.”
It was at this point that Davis brought race into the discussion by exclaiming, “You’re a black man approaching a white woman.”
The Florida woman, who went viral over a neighborhood row with NFL legend Terrell Owens, has been accused of knowingly giving police false information about the Aug. 3 racial confrontation
According to the reporter’s statement obtained by , Davis was unable to substantiate her claims
Terrell Owens, now 48, has had a Hall of Famer career with the Eagles, 49ers and Cowboys
Amid the escalating situation, Davis then began to cry.
“He’s literally after me,” the woman sobbed.
Owens continued to record while cooperating with officers by producing his identification.
“Please go, sir,” Owens said to the officer, handing him his ID.
“I saw it, but I was never a part of it,” Owens said, referring to the situation.
Owens continued to refer to Davis as “Karen,” which has become a pejorative term for an eligible white woman exercising white privilege, as typically seen in a viral video.
Owens, who played with the 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys and Bengals, captioned his video, “KAREN IS REAL!!!!”
‘Wow!! JUST ONE NORMAL NIGHT TO BE A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA,” he added. “I want to say I can’t believe it, but you all know what it is. #karenonbikes #tears #false accusations #hernameiskate’
An officer could be seen in the background, and Owens was cooperative, calling him “sir.”
He later referred to Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American man who was lynched in 1955 for allegedly insulting a white woman in Mississippi.
“This is for people like Emmitt Till who were fatally murdered and denied a chance to speak their truth on false charges,” Owens wrote on Aug. 4.
‘Regarding the incident that took place last night…here she is, real life and our neighbor Karen: Her name is Caitlyn Davis.’
More recently, Owens appeared on Chris Cuomo’s new show to discuss the incident.
“If the roles were reversed, they would charge me to the fullest extent of the law,” Owens said. ‘It is not about me.’
“I’m just thinking of others who may have been in this situation and if they hadn’t had the status or the means to do what I did it could have been very different.
“I want to be able to use this platform to shed light,” he added. “It doesn’t matter what type of neighborhood you are in, this is the reality of life as a black individual or as a black American.”
A polarizing player in his time, Owens is considered one of the greatest receivers in football history. The former Chattanooga star never won a Super Bowl but was a five-time First Team All-Pro before retiring from the NFL with the Bengals in 2010. He attempted a comeback with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012 but never played in a regular-season game for the team.
Terrell Owens scores a game-winning touchdown for the 49ers against the Falcons in 2001