Ravens' Zay Flowers Punishment Decision Made By NFL After Domestic Assault Case Closes

OWINGS MILLS, MD — The NFL will not punish Baltimore Ravens star Zay Flowers, multiple reports said Thursday. The wide receiver was tied to a domestic assault investigation earlier this year, but the case was suspended with no charges pressed against Flowers.

"Following a review, the NFL concluded there was insufficient evidence to support a finding that Zay Flowers engaged in any activity that violated the NFL's personal conduct policy," the league said in a statement obtained by ESPN and The Athletic among other sources. "There will be no action taken by the league and Flowers remains eligible to participate in all team activities."

The accuser told officers her NFL player boyfriend bruised her and his brother flashed a gun during a January assault, police records obtained by Patch said.

Flowers was never named an official suspect, but The Baltimore Banner and The Baltimore Sun both reported on Feb. 8 that he was tied to the investigation.

The Baltimore County Police Department suspended its investigation on Feb. 16, records say.

"This matter is considered closed, but the Department reserves the right to reopen the case if additional information becomes available," police spokesperson Joy Lepola-Stewart told Patch in a Feb. 20 email.

Related:

• Ravens Star Not Charged: New Details On Zay Flowers' Reported Investigation
• Zay Flowers Update: Lawmakers Want Domestic Assault 911 Call Released
• Ravens Player Involved In Domestic Assault Investigation: Report

Initial Call

Patch contacted Baltimore County Police on Feb. 20 and requested all of the documents in the investigation involving Flowers.

Officers sent us all the police reports, the 911 call and the radio dispatch. Authorities redacted, or blocked out, any identifying information for all the parties involved.

Patch could not independently verify that Flowers was involved in this investigation because of the redacted identifying information. We can confirm that the investigation involved an NFL player in Owings Mills and that the Ravens were contacted for help reaching somebody tied to the situation.

Police were dispatched to an Owings Mills home on Jan. 16 around 7:15 a.m.

Officers conducted a welfare check after getting a call from a crying female, who called 911 but quickly hung up.

911 operators called the number back, but the female said there was no emergency.

A dispatcher called two units to the scene.

"Female answered and was crying, said she didn't have an emergency, but seemed in distress when she hung up the phone," a police dispatcher said in a recording reviewed by Patch.

Officers arrived at the estimated location of the call and knocked on the door of that address.

Without giving an exact address, authorities can only guestimate where a call originated by triangulating the cell phone towers that a call used. That leaves some room for error when homes are close together.

The person who answered the door said they didn't call 911.

The Baltimore Banner reported that officers went to the home neighboring Flowers' house. Neighbors also told FOX 45 that officers were outside Flowers' house for over an hour that day.

The original 911 caller later reported that officers never came to her door and only sat outside, a police report said.

Follow-Up In Massachusetts

The 911 caller met in person with the Acton Police Department in Massachusetts on Jan. 21 around 12:15 p.m., records show. She brought her father and a friend.

That female reported that she suffered multiple bruises after a physical assault in Owings Mills on Jan. 16, the file says. She also claimed that she had pictures of the bruises, but she didn't share them with police.

She reported that she was "involved in a violent domestic incident where the [accused person's] brother also drew a firearm," the report says.

The female alleged that her close associate, an NFL player, assaulted her and "trashed" all of her belongings. She only hinted at his identity and didn't provide a name to limit any fallout.

She called 911, prompting Baltimore County officers to sit for about two hours outside her townhome, which she shared with the accused person. They never came to her door, but she alleged that the brother put the gun away when he saw the police outside.

The female packed up her belongings and came home to Acton, where she met with police. She had not seen a doctor as of that interview.

Police offered help filing protective orders, but she declined.

"It was a really bad ten-minutes," she told Acton Police, noting that she "hasn't been scared since." She added that her close associate has too much to lose, so she isn't worried about her safety.

Acton Police contacted Baltimore County Police on Jan. 21 around 6:30 p.m. and shared the interview and body camera video of the discussion. Patch has not seen that video.

Police contacted the female multiple times for follow-ups, but she did not share specifics on how or where physically she claimed to have been assaulted.

An attorney for an unidentified male said his client declined an optional interview with officers, the record says.

With no further information, officers closed the investigation unless new details surface in the future.

About Flowers

Flowers played in the Ravens' playoff games on Jan. 20 and Jan. 28, both of which were after the initial call.

Baltimore County Police were not aware of the specific allegations tied to the Ravens player until the female's Jan. 21 interview with Acton Police.

It's unclear whether the Ravens knew about the investigation before playing Flowers in the AFC Championship on Jan. 28.

Flowers, the Ravens’ first-round draft pick, set team rookie records for catches (77) and receiving yards (858) and scored six total touchdowns in 16 games, NBC Sports reported.

Flowers, a Fort Lauderdale native, graduated from Boston College. That's about 25 miles from Acton.