Broward prosecutors have declined to file charges against an assistant Miami Dolphins coach accused of battering his girlfriend in August.
Outside linebackers coach Ryan Crow, 37, was arrested on one count of domestic battery after allegedly pushing his girlfriend down the stairs, throwing hits at her and lifting her off the ground as if intending to “perform a takedown,” according to statements from witnesses and the victim in a prosecutors’ memo and an arrest report.
Prosecutors wrote in a closeout memo Wednesday that they could not pursue the case because the victim adamantly opposed pursuing charges against Crow, and witness accounts and video surveillance footage were not sufficient evidence without her cooperation.
The altercation began as the couple, who had been drinking, returned home from a Dolphins’ “work party” on Aug. 28, according to the memo and arrest report. Crow’s girlfriend told police that they were having an argument about his relationship with his estranged wife outside when he pushed her downstairs. Crow, who also spoke to police, denied touching her.
Three witnesses spoke to police. One witness, a resident of the building, said he was walking his dog nearby when he saw Crow lifting the victim off the ground and squeezing her as though he intended to “perform a takedown” while talking into her ear, according to the memo and police report, adding that she looked “terrified.” He said it appeared that she was “asking for help with her eyes,” the memo states, so he went inside and told apartment security.
A second witness, a gate attendant who worked at the building, said he went outside after hearing from the resident and saw Crow “throwing hits” and trying to grab and slap the victim, the memo states. As he was trying to grab her, she hit him and hit his hat off, he said. When Crow saw the gate attendant, he stopped and walked away. As the two entered the building, the witness said he heard Crow say “your daughter’s upstairs,” which he interpreted as a “semi-threat to get her upstairs.”
The gate attendant then followed the couple to their floor and listened from outside, where he told police he heard a “slap,” a “thud” and the sound of a woman “whimpering,” according to the arrest report.
A third witness who also worked at the security desk called 911, telling police that “a guy was choking a girl” at the apartment building, according to the memo. She said she had not seen what had transpited but heard about it from her coworker, though she also heard the comment about the victim’s daughter.
In addition to speaking to witnesses, prosecutors reviewed video surveillance footage from the building, which was “somewhat blurry,” according to the memo, and did not fully confirm witness accounts. The footage also showed the victim hitting Crow’s hat off and pushing him while in the elevator.
“While the videos do corroborate some of what the witness observed, it appears on video like the defendant is briefly hugging the victim when the witness is walking by with his dog,” the memo states. “The videos outside do not clearly show the defendant trying to grab or slap the victim, nor does it clearly show the defendant pushing the victim as described by the victim and the gate attendant.”
Prosecutors spoke to the victim in late August, according to the memo. She told them that it was an “an alcohol fueled event,” that she did not want charges filed and wanted contact with Crow; he was ordered to have no contact with her after his arrest. After his defense attorneys showed that he had received treatment for alcohol abuse, prosecutors agreed to allow him to return to the apartment. A judge approved the motion to vacate the no-contact order between Crow and his girlfriend in September.
“Neither the witnesses, nor the video surveillance, clearly establish that a battery occurred without the cooperation of the victim to describe step by step what transpired,” prosecutors concluded. “Although the witnesses interpreted the victim’s need for help based upon their observations, the victim never said anything to them and these facts would not meet the legal threshold required for any of the witnesses to be permitted to testify in a court of law as to the victim’s state of mind.”
The Dolphins suspended Crow following his arrest.
He had joined the team’s coaching staff in 2024 after spending the previous six years as an assistant coach with the Tennessee Titans. He coached perhaps the most talented and deepest position group on the Dolphins, a group that’s regarded as one of the best in the NFL. The outside linebackers, or edge rushers, are led by Jaelan Phillips, Bradley Chubb, Chop Robinson and newly-acquired Matthew Judon. Crow is credited with developing Robinson, the Dolphins’ 2024 first-round pick who had 6.0 sacks last season, into one of the league’s most promising pass rushers.
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Michael Gottlieb, Crow’s attorney, told the Sun Sentinel that the Broward State Attorney’s Office had called him Wednesday to inform him that prosecutors were planning to decline to press charges. He said that he hopes Crow will be able to return to work now that the case has been dropped.
“I hope the court of public opinion treats him as well and he gets his job back and is able to move forward with his life,” Gottlieb said.
Crow’s arrest is one of multiple recent cases involving domestic violence allegations against sports professionals in South Florida.
In September, the NFL said it would investigate abuse allegations against Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill made by his estranged wife in court filings. And in August, Broward prosecutors declined to a pursue a case against Cleveland Browns rookie running back Quinshon Judkins after he was arrested on charges of misdemeanor battery and domestic violence.
Staff writers Rafael Olmeda and David Furones contributed to this report.
