A police report obtained by KERA News details an alleged assault reportedly involving Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Rashee Rice on Monday, in which a photographer says he was lured to a downtown nightclub before being attacked.
The offense report is redacted, and does not show the name of either the suspect or victim. But other details including age and height match those of Rice, and both the Dallas Morning News and WFAA-TV confirmed Rice was a person of interest in the case earlier this week.
According to the report, the photographer was at an after hours party at the Lit Lounge & Feu Nightclub in the 600 block of North Harwood Street before he left and later returned at the request of a man believed to be Rice, who allegedly told the photographer to look at Instagram messages on his phone. While looking down at his phone, the man allegedly punched the photographer on the left side of his face, according to the report.
Rice is represented by Texas Sen. Royce West, who is a managing partner at West & Associates L.L.P. KERA News reached out to West and will update this story with any comments.
Monday's alleged assault is the latest in recent headlines involving Rice in Dallas.
Earlier this year, Rice was one of two people suspected in a high-speed hit-and-run crash in the 6600 block of North Central Expressway in Dallas.
Last month a pair of Dallas residents who say they were injured in the crash filed a lawsuit against Rice and Southern Methodist University student Teddy Knox for at least $10 million.
Two days after the crash, West issued a statement on behalf of Rice that said the NFL star was cooperating with local authorities. In a later statement, he confirmed Rice turned himself in to authorities.
"I want to re-emphasis Mr. Rice's continued cooperation with law enforcement," West wrote in the statement. "Mr. Rice acknowledges his actions and feels deeply for those injured as a result of this accident. Our legal team is now tasked with reviewing all legal documents."
Knox, a 21-year-old cornerback at SMU, was suspended from the university after Dallas police issued a warrant for his arrest.
Both Rice and Knox face eight felonies: six counts of collision involving bodily injury, one count of collision involving serious bodily injury, and one count of aggravated assault.
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