Pelicans Center Jaxson Hayes Charged With Domestic Violence, Battery Against Police

Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes was charged with 12 misdemeanor counts last week, including two counts of domestic battery, one count of resisting arrest and one count of battery against a police officer, according to court records obtained by ESPN.

The charges stem from a July dispute at Hayes’s Los Angeles home.

Among the other charges filed are three counts of inflicting corporal injury to a spouse, one count of false imprisonment, three counts of vandalism and one count of aggravated trespassing, per court records obtained by ESPN.

Hayes was arrested in the early morning of July 28 after his then girlfriend's cousin called 911. The cousin had said Hayes’s girlfriend was sending her text messages saying he had become loud and violent, and she was scared.

In the lead-up to his arrest, video released from a police body camera showed that an officer pressed a knee near the neck of Hayes as the center gasped, “I can’t breathe.” Another officer then used a Taser on him.

Hayes was shown trying to get into his house as officers began to restrain him. Per NBC Los Angeles, as he continued to resist being handcuffed, the officers had warned him that they would use a Taser.

A separate body cam video from a sergeant at the scene shows Hayes shoving an officer into a wall as that officer tries to handcuff him early in the altercation. The officer suffered an elbow injury and was treated at a hospital, police said.

Hayes also received treatment for minor injuries before being booked in July.

Per ESPN, Hayes was charged on Jan. 20 and arraigned Monday.

"Since before the charges were filed, the Pelicans have worked in conjunction with the NBA on the matter and will continue to do so moving forward," the team said in a statement to ESPN.

Hayes, 21, has appeared in 33 games this season for New Orleans, including on Sunday and Monday in contests vs. the Knicks and Pacers, respectively. The No. 8 pick in the 2019 NBA draft, he is averaging 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.