Florida prosecutors have dropped misdemeanor charges against a woman accused of lying to police about a racially charged incident with NFL legend Terrell Owens, DailyMail.com has learned.
Caitlin Davis, a white woman in her late 30s, was charged with the second-degree misdemeanor in November over the August incident. Now, though, Broward County prosecutors say they have dropped the case because they ‘would not be able to prove the elements of the charged crime with the facts that were presented.’
Owens, who recorded some of the incident and posted it on Instagram, has maintained that Davis lied to police about their August 3 argument in Deerfield Beach, Florida. She claimed at the time that Owens ‘came after’ her after she yelled at him for allegedly driving dangerously.
But in order to convict someone of filing false reports to law enforcement in Florida, the State must prove five elements beyond a reasonable doubt, the first of which is that the accused ‘knowingly gave information about the alleged commission of a crime.’
In this case, she wasn’t accusing Owens of a crime, but rather a traffic infraction, and that loophole appears to have exonerated Davis. As Supervising Assistant State Attorney Jana Wasserman Bodner explained in a statement: ‘The allegations as to Mr. Owens’s driving pattern amount to traffic infractions. They are not crimes…’
The Florida woman who went viral over a racially charged neighborhood argument with NFL legend Terrell Owens is no longer facing charges for giving false information to police, TMZ is reporting. Caitlin Davis, a white woman in her late 30s, was charged with the second-degree misdemeanor in November over the August incident, according to records obtained by DailyMail.com. Now, though, Broward County prosecutors say they have dropped the case because they ‘would not be able to prove the elements of the charged crime with the facts that were presented.’
The confrontation went viral in August after Owens posted footage on his Instagram page.
‘He got out of his car and started harassing me,’ Davis told officers as Owens recorded the scene on his phone, while derisively referring to her as a ‘Karen.’
‘But you didn’t have to get out of your f***ing car,’ she then yelled at Owens.
Owens responded: ‘You didn’t have to talk to me that way, either.’
It was at this point that Davis brought race into the discussion by shouting: ‘You’re a black man approaching a white woman.’
Amid the escalating situation, Davis then began to cry.
‘He literally came after me,’ the woman sobbed.
Terrell Owens, now 48, hard a Hall-of-Fame career with the Eagles, 49ers and Cowboys
In order to convict someone of filing false reports to law enforcement in Florida, the State must prove five elements beyond a reasonable doubt, the first of which is that the accused ‘knowingly gave information about the alleged commission of a crime.’ In this case, she wasn’t accusing Owens of a crime, but rather a traffic infraction, and that loophole appears to have exonerated Davis. As Supervising Assistant State Attorney Jana Wasserman Bodner explained in a statement: ‘The allegations as to Mr. Owens’s driving pattern amount to traffic infractions. They are not crimes’
Owens continued to record while cooperating with officers by providing his identification.
‘Her you go, sir,’ Owens said to the officer, handing over his ID.
‘I’ve seen it, but I’ve never been a part of this,’ Owens said, referring to the situation.
Owens continued referring to Davis as ‘Karen,’ which has become a pejorative term for an entitled white woman exercising white privilege, typically in a viral video.
Owens, who starred with the 49ers, Eagles, Cowboys and Bengals, captioned his video: ‘KAREN IS REAL!!!!’
‘Wow!! JUST A NORMAL NIGHT OF BEING A BLACK MAN IN AMERICA,’ he added. ‘I want to say I can’t believe it but y’all know what it is. #karenonbikes #tears #falseaccusations #hernameiskate’
Davis was unable to support her allegations, according to the reporting officer’s statement, obtained by DailyMail.com. However, the misdemeanor charge against her is now dropped
An officer could be seen in the background, and Owens was cooperative, calling him ‘sir’
He later referenced Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American who was lynched for allegedly offending a white woman in Mississippi in 1955.
‘THIS IS FOR THOSE LIKE EMMITT TILL WHO WAS BURTALLY MURDERED AND DIDN’T GET A CHANCE TO LIVE TO SPEAK THEIR TRUTHS BECAUSE OF FALSE ACCUSATIONS,’ Owens wrote on August 4.
‘Regarding the incident that took place last night… here she is, a real life and our neighbor Karen: her name is Caitlyn Davis.’
More recently, Owens has appeared on Chris Cuomo’s show to discuss the incident.
‘If the roles were reversed, they would be going to the full extent of the law to charge me,’ Owens said. ‘It’s not about me.’
‘I just think about others that may have been in this situation and if they didn’t have the status or wherewithal to do what I did, it could have been gravely different.
‘I want to be able to use this platform to shed light on what goes on,’ he added. ‘It doesn’t matter what type of neighborhood you’re in, this is the reality of the life of a black individual or black American.’
A polarizing player in his day, Owens is considered among the greatest receivers in football history. The former Chattanooga star never won a Super Bowl, but was a five-time First Team All-Pro before ending his NFL career with the Bengals in 2010. He attempted a comeback with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012, but never played in a regular-season game for the team.
Terrell Owens scores a game-winning touchdown for the 49ers against the Falcons in 2001
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