Bengals WR Jermaine Burton accused of assaulting girlfriend

Cincinnati Bengals receiver Jermaine Burton was accused of allegedly assaulting a woman he was dating, though nothing came of it after she declined to press charges, according to police records obtained by the Cincinnati Enquirer.

According to police records, an assault was reported the morning of Dec. 30, days before the Bengals halted Burton, a 2024 third-round draft pick from Alabama, from traveling with the organization to Cincinnati’s regular-season finale at Pittsburgh.

The Bengals refused to explain Burton’s absense from the season-finale outside of describing it as a “coach’s decision,” which prompted the Enquirer to do further digging. The Cincinnati police released the information — two reports and a 911 recording the woman made — Wednesday as part of a public records request.

“We are aware of information related to Jermaine Burton,” the Bengals’ statement to the Enquirer read. “We will continue to evaluate as we gather additional details and will have no further comment at this time.”

According to the Enquirer, police reports show Burton and the woman “dated on and off” after first meeting in September. The two were allegedly arguing prior to the Dec. 30 incident following a night out. The Enquirer revealed records show the woman told the 911 dispatcher that Burton “met her at her apartment, chased her inside, damaged her phone and assaulted her, including choking her.” The woman, who is 19 and was heard sobbing heavily on the 911 call, also claimed Burton “held a knife to his neck and threatened to kill himself.”

“Jermaine Burton on the Bengals just broke into my house,” the woman said on the 911 call. “He broke my phone. … He’s been like pretty abusive. He does a lot of things that I don’t tolerate.”

She then claimed Burton had been “screaming at me” during their night out, and they parted ways, only for Burton to be at her apartment when she arrived later that night.

“He wouldn’t let me go inside. And he choked me (unintelligible) in the hallway,” she said, according to the Enquirer. “He blocked the door so I couldn’t go inside, and when I did go inside, he chased me upstairs. He broke into my house. He broke my phone. This is the second time he’s broken my phone in the past month.

“He broke my phone. He hit me and he left.”

When Cincinnati police arrived at the woman’s apartment the next morning, Burton was already gone. The police report indicated the woman had suffered minor injuries but did not need medical attention. It also showed the woman initially planned to press charges against Burton, but then changed her mind.

The Enquirer also reported Burton faces eviction from his apartment at The Banks with proceedings beginning Dec. 17.