Nunn Charged With Simple Assault : Boxer Arrested After Altercation Involving Police in Iowa

Michael Nunn, International Boxing Federation middleweight champion, was charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, and was released after having been involved in an altercation Sunday involving seven police officers and an angry crowd in his hometown of Davenport, Iowa.

Nunn, who lives in Agoura Hills, was charged when he grabbed the arm of officer Rollyn Meyers, who was attempting to arrest Nunn’s mother, Madies Nunn, after she had hit another policeman, Martin Lopez, over the head with a shoe, opening a deep cut.

The violence culminated a running feud involving three Davenport families, the Nunns, the Howards and the Baileys.

The trouble began in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to Capt. Jim Van Fossen of the Davenport Police Department, when Victoria Howard reported that Willie Nunn, a brother of the champion, and Raymond Jones, a nephew, had broken windows in her car.

Two Bailey brothers then reported that Michael Nunn had pulled a gun on them and fired shots into the air. Police responded, but found no evidence of a gun.

When police stopped Nunn Sunday afternoon on a Davenport street to search his car for a weapon, a crowd estimated at between 50 and 70 people gathered. Among them were members of the feuding families. When Nunn tried to go after one of them, he was restrained by police, according to Van Fossen.

That’s when Nunn’s mother struck Lopez.

“At that point, Michael said, ‘You’re not arresting my mother,’ and he grabbed the officer’s arm,” Van Fossen said.

According to a news report, Nunn also threw a punch at the policeman, but Van Fossen said that wasn’t true.

Jones was also arrested for threatening an officer with a hand ax and charged with assault while displaying a dangerous weapon. Madies Nunn was charged with assault with injury.

In the confusion, someone in the crowd threw a punch at another policeman, Don Huss, opening a cut that required four stitches.

As he was being led away, Nunn asked police to remove the handcuffs on his wrists, telling them, “I’m cool. I’m cool.”

The maximum penalty Nunn could receive would be 30 days in jail and a fine of $100.