Police report: Aroldis Chapman allegedly fired gunshots, 'choked' girlfriend in domestic incident

Cincinnati Reds closer Aroldis Chapman allegedly fired eight gunshots in the garage of his Miami-area home following an October argument with his girlfriend in which she told police he “choked” her and pushed her against a wall, according to police reports obtained by Yahoo Sports.

No arrests were made after the incident, in which more than a dozen police officers were dispatched to Chapman’s home in Davie, Fla., around 11 p.m. on Oct. 30. Chapman’s girlfriend exited the house and hid in bushes following the argument that stemmed from something she found on Chapman’s cellphone, according to the police report.

"I've reviewed the facts as portrayed," Jay Reisinger, Chapman’s attorney, told Yahoo Sports on Monday night. "On behalf of Mr. Chapman, we vehemently deny the allegations as stated. Beyond that, we have no further comment at this time."

The Reds through a spokesman declined to comment when asked about the alleged incident.

The Reds have attempted to trade Chapman in recent weeks and were believed to have completed a trade with the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday until word of the incident held up the deal, sources told Yahoo Sports. Through a spokesman, Major League Baseball confirmed to Yahoo Sports that it would investigate the incident.

Chapman, 27, is the hardest-throwing pitcher in baseball history and considered among the best closers in baseball after six dominating seasons as a left-handed relief ace for the Reds. When police arrived at his house, they established a perimeter around it and called Chapman’s phone eight times, each of which kicked to voicemail, according to the report. Eventually, Chapman exited the front of the house and spoke with police, the report said.

Chapman police report

He admitted to firing eight shots with a handgun, seven of which went into a concrete wall inside his garage and the eighth of which went through a window into an open field, following a party with friends and family, according to the police report.

Police interviewed multiple people, including Chapman, Chapman’s girlfriend, her brother and a man identified as Chapman’s driver, according to the report. No arrests were made “due to conflicting stories and a lack of cooperation from all parties involved,” the report said.

The incident started, Chapman’s girlfriend told police, after she went into a bathroom of Chapman’s 10,000-square-foot-plus house and “found something in his phone that she did not like,” according to the report. Chapman, his girlfriend told police, then took the phone from her, the report said. They went to the movie theater inside of Chapman’s home, where “he had pushed her against the wall,” according to the report, and “that Chapman had ‘choked’ her by placing his hands around her neck, but did not prevent her from breathing at any time.” Police did not observe “injuries or even redness anywhere on her neck or chest,” the report said.

Chapman’s girlfriend told police her brother “came into the theater and separated them,” the report said. Chapman’s girlfriend told police she “ran outside because she was scared for her and her daughter,” according to the report. Her daughter was 4 months old, according to the report. While it is unclear whether the child is Chapman’s, he told police after a previous incident that they “had a child in common,” according to a police report.

In Chapman’s version of the story, he told police he used his index and middle fingers and “poked his girlfriend on the left shoulder and told her not to talk to him like that,” according to the report. He said his girlfriend fell to floor and started yelling, the report said. Chapman told police the girlfriend’s brother came into the room and pushed Chapman to the ground, according to the report. Friends and family, Chapman told police, separated the two so they wouldn’t fight, the report said.

Chapman’s driver said that after the fight over the phone, Chapman’s girlfriend “returned to the theater room, charging at Chapman and tackled him,” according to the police report. She denied that version of the incident to police, the report said. When police later approached the driver to talk about his story, he declined to speak with them again, according to the report.

After exiting the house, Chapman’s girlfriend ran to the other side, hid behind bushes and contacted law-enforcement officials, according to the report. Chapman’s girlfriend told police her infant child remained inside the house at the time, the report said.

Chapman told police he wanted to drive away but friends wouldn’t let him, according to the police report. He entered the passenger’s-side door of his Land Rover, punched the window and cut his left pinkie knuckle, the report said. Chapman then said he retrieved the handgun from the glove compartment and locked himself in the garage alone. “He then shot several shots inside the garage and threw his pistol away inside the garage,” the report said. Chapman’s driver moved the gun from the garage back into another vehicle, a Cadillac Escalade, according to the report.

Chapman said friends took him into a room and locked the door, according to the police report. When police arrived, others exited the house, the report said. Chapman, according to the report, was the last one out.

On Nov. 3, four days after the incident, police spoke with Assistant State Attorney Marcie Zaccor, who said “due to conflicting stories, no cooperating witnesses, and no physical injuries, there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr. Chapman with simple battery,” according to the report.

MLB still plans to investigate the incident under its new domestic-violence policy. In a statement to Yahoo Sports, a league spokesman said: "We negotiated a domestic-violence policy and with information like this we would commence an investigation."

According to the domestic violence policy, a violator could be subject to suspension or fine at the discretion of the commissioner.

The incident came less than a month after police were called to Chapman’s house on Southwest 106th Terrace regarding a possible burglary, according to a police report filed Oct. 5. Chapman’s girlfriend told police she had a key to the house and had came to collect furniture and clothing, the report said. She told police she had lived there for approximately three years and recently had broken up with Chapman, according to the report.

When contacted, Chapman – who the report said was not home at the time – told police he dated her for a little over a year and had a child together, according to the report. They had lived together in a Miami apartment and moved back to the Davie home six to eight weeks earlier, the report said. Chapman told police he believed his girlfriend had taken a key without permission, according to the police report.

Previously, Chapman had been cited by Davie police for a noise-ordinance violation after a neighbor called several times complaining of “excessively loud music,” according to another police report.