We have been informed by Hamilton County Attorney Melissa Powers and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office that no charges have been filed against Joe Mixon as a result of their investigation into the incident that occurred March 6 at Joe’s Cincinnati residence becomes. This is the conclusion we expected based on the facts which clearly show Joe’s innocence.
We have been waiting to issue a statement to give the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and the Hamilton County Attorney’s Office time to conduct due diligence and complete their investigations.
Since the incident, there has been a lot of media coverage full of inaccurate reports, misinformation, and downright fabrication. We would like to point out a few relevant facts that have not been made public or that require explanation in order to resolve any inconsistencies.
A few weeks before the incident, Joe’s address was improperly released. After his address was made public, Joe was the victim of multiple threats of physical violence and harassment on social media and at his home in Cincinnati. These threats are well documented.
Prior to March 6, Joe had been out of town to visit family in California. He returned to Cincinnati and his home on March 6. He was joined around the house that evening by his sister, their five children, their male companion and his physical therapist.
On the night of the incident, several vehicles pulled up in front of Joe’s house and blocked the street. This happened when it was very dark outside. Joe and his physical therapist saw several people with what appeared to be guns get out of the vehicles as they ran into neighbors’ yards.
One person was seen going into the trunk of his vehicle, shouting instructions and pulling out what appeared to be a long gun (at the time it appeared to be a “Kel-Tec” rifle). The person ran up a back driveway of the residence yelling “F*** yeah”.
Threats to your life, cars blocking the streets, people running through the neighborhood with what appear to be guns. Joe and his physical therapist felt threatened and feared for their safety and the safety of the young children in the dorm.
At this point, Joe called the Bengals security director to have the police dispatched to the residence immediately, fearing for the well-being of everyone at the residence. The physical therapist called 911 from a separate room. This recording of the 911 call was released and clearly shows the level of fear and concern in his voice at the situation when he was hiding behind a pillar in the house.
The adults inside then instructed the five young children to run to the basement to protect themselves from danger. Joe went outside to find out what was going on in front of his house. Joe had no intention of confronting anyone and he didn’t. He didn’t want to threaten anyone and didn’t do it. He had no intention of shooting anyone, and he didn’t.
He saw a person who appeared to be carrying a rifle dash straight toward his property as the person continued to bark instructions. When another person fired a gun, Joe intervened to stop the person from firing a gun.
Joe hates that a young adult was injured in this incident. Since joining the Bengals and calling Cincinnati home, he has been involved in youth activities in a variety of capacities. His goal has always been to help our youth, not harm them.
It is now clear that the young adults were playing a game of running around the neighborhood performing paramilitary movements with plastic guns meant to look like real guns. This is an activity that is known and recognized by both the local school district and the Sheriff’s Department.
This is clearly a serious issue and we are joining all concerned parents, youth groups, teachers and other school districts in watching this game and helping identify ways to encourage safe and intelligent participation during the daytime hours. An immense tragedy was narrowly avoided in this case. We cannot allow other young adults to be exposed to this kind of danger.