Dez Bryant Cited After Officer Points Gun At Him

Former Dallas Cowboys star Dez Bryant says a police officer pointed a gun at him in front of his daughters Sunday after a clash with two men he claims threatened to shoot him over an alleged reckless driving incident. The encounter left Bryant with an assault citation on record.

Footage shared by OutKick shows the former wide receiver lying handcuffed on pavement in Southlake, Texas, alongside the two other men. One officer is seen aiming his weapon directly at Bryant. Bryant admitted he knocked a phone from one man's hand during the fight but argued over how police managed the situation and why he was cited after reporting a threat against his life.

"I was really more so concerned about my children, you know, looking at their dad, you know, being on the ground with a gun pointed at me," Bryant stated.

The citation reviewed by OutKick lists "Assault by Contact" as the charge and places the scene at 2251 E. Southlake Blvd., which is also the address for Chiloso Mexican Bistro. The document notes "Arrest: No" and orders Bryant to show up at Southlake Municipal Court on or before Nov. 20 at 5 p.m.

Bryant explained that trouble started when he spotted two vehicles with occupants arguing at a traffic light. He accused the drivers of cutting him off and driving recklessly as they followed him to the restaurant where he was heading too. He told them to stop, admitting he used bad language in the heat of the moment. An argument then erupted with one man, whom Bryant described as a young adult.

"He go to threatening me and basically saying, um, he'll insinuate that he'll, you know, he'll shoot me or whatever," Bryant said.

Bryant replied with his own warning. "You pull that gun, I'm telling you right now, you better use it because if you don't I'm going to do something to you," he recalled saying to the man. When asked if the man actually drew a weapon, Bryant denied it. "No, he didn't pull a gun out on me," he said. Instead, the man pulled out his phone and started recording.

"I told him, you know, get the phone off me," Bryant explained. "So what I ended up doing is I knocked the phone out of his hand." The man then claimed he would call police, according to Bryant, who encouraged it because he believed officers would look into the alleged threat.

Bryant said a responding officer then drew a gun and ordered everyone to get on the ground. His girlfriend arrived with their two daughters and began filming everything happening around them.

"I get on the ground," Bryant recounted. "My lady pulled up, she got my children, and they seen everything that's going on."

According to his account, officers handcuffed the men, questioned them separately, put him in a police vehicle before releasing him with the citation. The other two men were allowed to walk away. Bryant alleged that police relied too heavily on the phone recording from the other man without properly investigating what happened beforehand. He asked officers to review surrounding surveillance footage, including video of the driving incident that started it all.

"I would rather you guys take us all down to the police station and do the proper investigation instead of just taking somebody else, you know, side," Bryant said. "I felt like it was very one-sided."

Bryant also claims an officer told him he had to be "the bigger person." Under Texas law, assault involving offensive or provocative physical contact is generally a Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $500.

The legal citation offered no specific statutory subsection to define the charges. Bryant insisted his actions were pure self-defense, noting that Texas law hinges entirely on the circumstances at hand. Authorities must determine if someone reasonably believed force was immediately necessary to stop unlawful force from another person.

Bryant stressed he maintains long-standing, positive relationships with individual officers in Southlake, including one connected to his son's football team at Southlake Carroll High School. "Every time I see him, we talk ball. We just talk about the regular things," Bryant said of that officer. "It's always been good. This situation was just extremely unfortunate."

His NFL resume is solid proof of his past success. The former receiver played eight seasons with Dallas, earning three Pro Bowl selections and All-Pro honors in 2014. He finished his Cowboys tenure with 531 catches, 7,459 receiving yards, and 73 receiving touchdowns.

Bryant explained that his standing in the Southlake community, especially among children who look up to him, pushed him to speak out about the encounter. "My reputation mean everything to me," he said.

When asked what he wants from law enforcement moving forward, Bryant called for fairness and a thorough investigation. "Treat everybody fair. Treat everybody fair. Treat everybody with respect," he said. "Do your due diligence on what's actually going on."

OutKick has reached out to the City of Southlake for a comment on behalf of the police department.