Gilbert police say a former NFL player was arrested on Sunday night after he fled from officers.
Davone Bess, who was a wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins and Cleveland Browns, was reportedly taken into custody after a standoff at his home near Higley and Pecos roads at 4:45 a.m. on Monday.
Bess took off from a traffic stop near San Tan Village Parkway and Williams Field Road earlier on Sunday night. Police say the man was driving a silver Mercedes without any headlights on. Bess drove his vehicle into the parking lot of a sporting goods store but would not stop the vehicle. He rolled down a window and started making hand gestures in the shape of a gun and was "motioning that he was shooting the officer," police said.
The responding officer gave him commands to exit the vehicle, but Bees did not listen. He then took his shirt off and kept making more hand gestures before fleeing in the Mercedes and nearly hitting another vehicle that was occupied.
After a short pursuit, officers stopped following Bess due to safety reasons.
Officers responded to the man's home and waited for him to arrive. That's when Bess barricaded himself inside the vehicle and kept ignoring officer commands; at one point, the man went into his home and displayed a knife and at times put the knife to his throat. Officers tried to negotiate with Bess for several hours.
At one point, Bess opened the door to his home and a K-9 was released. The dog bit Bess on the left forearm, and he was taken into custody. The man was transported to a hospital for treatment of the dog bite and for a mental evaluation.
He is being charged with endangerment, felony flight and failure to stop for police.
The 30-year-old played for the Dolphins from 2008 to 2012. He was released as the Browns wide receiver in 2014 after less than a year.
While playing for Cleveland, he was arrested for assaulting a law enforcement officer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
