Former Miami Dolphins running back Mark Walton had a charge of aggravated battery of a pregnant woman dropped Wednesday, his Fort Lauderdale lawyer Michael Gottlieb told ESPN.
Gottlieb said the state of Florida decided to drop the charges after months of investigating and he was hopeful that Walton, who is an NFL free agent, would get another chance to play football.
Walton is still subject to league discipline in the matter, and NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said the matter remains under review. The Dolphins immediately released Walton in November, when they were made aware of the arrest.
According to a police document released to ESPN in November, Walton was accused of pushing the woman into a wall and punching her several times in her face and head.
The officer called to the scene observed swelling to the woman’s left eye. The woman had recently become pregnant and told Walton that he was the father. In the audio of the 911 call that was released, the woman says her 2-year-old daughter was in the home at the time of the alleged assault.
Walton, 23, was through two games of a four-game league suspension for violating the NFL conduct and substance abuse policy relating to three offseason arrests between January and March 2019. He was released by the Cincinnati Bengals in April 2019 after these arrests, and the Dolphins signed the 2018 fourth-round pick out of the University of Miami in May 2019.
Walton received six months of non-reporting probation as part of an August plea deal to resolve those three offseason court cases. Walton’s probation was later vacated after he met the court’s conditions.
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