Florida’s Brian Edwards arrested on misdemeanor battery charge

Florida Gators defensive back Brian Edwards was arrested Monday night on a misdemeanor battery charge for a incident involving grabbing his girlfriend’s neck, per a police report.

Gator Country’s Nick de la Torre has the details from that police report,

According to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report Edwards and his girlfriend of “approximately two years” got into an argument and the woman attempted to leave. In an effort to keep her from leaving Edwards allegedly grabbed her by the neck. The victim had marks on her neck and a scratch on her shoulder according to the report. There was one witness to the incident who intervened in an effort to stop the argument and then called 911. Edwards was arrested and booked for simple battery, a misdemeanor charge in the state of Florida.

Edwards was booked into the Alachua County Jail overnight, and remained there as of 11 a.m. Tuesday morning.

First-degree misdemeanor charges can carry punishments of up to a year in jail and a fine of $1,000 in Florida, but Edwards appears to be a first-time offender who could qualify for various reductions in punishment or pre-trial diversion programs.

However, he is also the second Gator revealed to be accused of violence against a woman within a week, after last week brought the revelation that transferring Florida quarterback Jalon Jones was accused of sexual battery by two women in early April.

Though no criminal charges were pressed against Jones, it appears that his decision to transfer — styled as a mutual decision arrived at in conjunction with Florida per reports — was in part a response to the allegations against him. Whether that qualifies as a punishment from Florida, especially given Jones’s participation in Florida’s spring game between the alleged incidents and Florida’s cagey responses regarding the timeline of events, is up for debate.

And so what Florida does or does not do to punish Edwards, now criminally charged with violence against a woman alleged to be his girlfriend — though, fairly, not with domestic violence under Florida statute — will be interesting to watch.

Edwards, a junior from Miami, played sparingly as a reserve defensive back in 2018, tallying seven tackles and four passes defended in eight games. He projects as a reserve again in 2019.