A Northwestern linebacker was suspended from the football team over the weekend after he was charged with punching a police officer early Saturday morning, officials said.
Weinberg sophomore Braden Jones, 19, was charged with battery, criminal damage to property, resisting arrest and unlawful use of a driver’s license in connection with an incident at the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house, said Lt. Nick Parashis of University Police.
Director of Athletics Rick Taylor confirmed Monday that head football coach Randy Walker had suspended Jones, pending the outcome of legal proceedings against him.
“Randy said, ‘This is what I want to do,’ and I said, ‘I concur with that,'” Taylor said. “There’s a process, and (Jones) will go through it, just like any student.”
Jones declined to comment.
Police received a call from ZBT, 576 Lincoln St., around 2 a.m. on Saturday, Parashis said. ZBT members told police they had asked a group of about five people to leave the house during a party.
On the way out, someone in the group broke a window in the house, prompting the fraternity’s members to confront the group, Parashis said. Another person then punched a ZBT member, and the group left the fraternity.
Police found the five men nearby and asked each for identification. Jones gave police a false driver’s license, Parashis said. After a witness identified Jones, police took him aside and asked for his real identity.
Jones then punched one of the officers and fled, Parashis said. The officers chased Jones for a couple of blocks and arrested him after a struggle.
An athletic department spokesman said Walker and other coaches would not comment on Jones’ suspension.
Howie Shneider, ZBT’s president, said he did not want to identify which fraternity members were involved in the fight at the house until he learned more about the incident.
Jones played in 11 games for the football team as a redshirt freshman in the fall.
Many viewed his college football career as a miracle when, after suffering minor brain damage during a July 2001 fight in Nashville, Tenn., Jones was told by doctors he would never play again. But just three months later, he was cleared to take the field.
Senior offensive lineman Jeff Roehl said the charges were hard to believe.
“If it’s true, it’s probably one of the worst mistakes he’s made in his life,” he said. “It’s a really unfortunate thing to happen to such a good kid.”
Jones is scheduled to appear at a hearing at 9 a.m. March 6 at Circuit Court in Skokie.
The Daily’s David Sterrett contributed to this report.
