Tide's Johnson offered plea deal

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TUSCALOOSA | City prosecutors have offered a plea deal to University of Alabama safety Rashad Johnson that would dismiss all charges filed against him after a late-night incident at club along The Strip last weekend, his attorney said Friday.

However, Josh Swords of the local firm of Brinyark, Lee, Hickman & Hocutt, said that he and his client are going to consider their options over the weekend and meet with city attorneys early next week about discrepancies between the police report and what video surveillance showed in and outside the Legacy during the early morning hours of Feb. 23.

“We’re still deciding whether or not to accept the offer,” Swords said.

Johnson, a team co-captain and first-team All-SEC safety, was arrested after allegedly pushing down a security guard near the bar’s entrance. He’s been offered to have his disorderly conduct charge dismissed, but with conditions, which would likely be some sort of community service, like riding with police one night. UA Head Coach Nick Saban has already indicated that Johnson will not be suspended from the team.

“I was a prosecutor for four years, I don’t expect them to be perfect in the police report, but there are discrepancies,” Swords said.

Swords said he wouldn’t give details, but indicated that there were things in the report that didn’t show up on any of the four different angles of video.

“Rashad and I are looking for a quick conclusion, one that in a way will strengthen the relationship between the police department, the University of Alabama and the football team,” he said. “But we feel a quick resolution would be best.”



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