Woman: Browns’ Moeller ‘tried to strangle me and beat me up’

A woman who identified herself as the fiancee of suspended Browns offensive line coach Andy Moeller said during a disturbing 911 call he “tried to strangle me and beat me up” Saturday night at his home in Berea, Ohio.

“I hate to do this to him, but you know what? I’m glad I made it out of there in time,” the woman, who identified herself as “Sandy,” said during the call.

The Berea Police Department released a recording of the call Tuesday afternoon.

The woman made the call at 9:06 p.m. Saturday, signed an assault complaint against Moeller at about midnight, then told authorities at approximately 7:55 a.m. Sunday she wanted to drop the charge, according to a report released by Berea police Tuesday.

Moeller hasn’t been arrested or charged. His name was redacted from the report, but the woman named him in the 911 call.

Now the case is in the hands of Berea prosecutor Jim Walters.

In a statement released Tuesday, Walters said his review of the police report “is likely to continue for a number of days,” after which he will decide whether to file charges against Moeller.

“If charges are issued, an announcement will be made at an appropriate time,” Walters said. “Since this is an ongoing investigation, and since no charges have been made at this time, no further information from the police report and no further investigative material will be released.”

Police were dispatched at 9:08 p.m. Saturday because the woman reported an assault had occurred in Moeller’s home, which is near the road. The alleged victim had left the home and spoke to police on the road. Other officers spoke to Moeller at his home.

“There were conflicting stories of what had occurred,” the report reads.

There were no initial injuries observed, according to the report.

During the 911 call, the woman said she lives in Maryland but visits Moeller frequently.

“He’s my fiance not anymore, though,” she said.

Asked by the dispatcher what they were arguing about, the woman said, “I’m trying to think. I don’t even know what it was. I was on the phone talking to my son and he told me to be quiet, like, ‘Just shut up.’?”

She said “maybe some alcohol ... probably some beer” was involved “but no drugs.”

The dispatcher asked the woman whether Moeller had been violent before.

“Yeah, well, I hate to say that. But, yeah, I’m sure,” she said.

The woman also said, “Tell him to just stop and not to hurt me. I kept saying stop. At least I got out of the house.”

The alleged victim was taken to a hotel at her request. A few hours later, approximately at midnight, she contacted police and stated she still wanted to press charges and had an injury from the incident, which was not originally visible, according to the report. An officer went to the hotel, where the alleged victim signed an assault complaint.

At 7:55 a.m. Sunday, the officer returned to the hotel upon the woman’s request. She then stated she wanted to drop the assault charge and completed a second statement form.

The alleged victim was told the original complaint she signed would be forwarded to the prosecutor’s office for review, and no arrests would be made at the time.

The Browns released the following statement Monday: “Browns offensive line coach Andy Moeller has been suspended indefinitely by the team effective immediately. Over the weekend, Andy was involved in an incident, involving allegations that we take very seriously. We have followed our internal protocol, determining that right now it is best for the team and for Andy to take time away from the organization to focus on his personal matters. We are going to respect the process of investigation on this personal matter and will have no further comment at this time.”

The NFL suspended Moeller for two games in 2011 for violating the league’s personal conduct policy and fined him $47,000. The suspension stemmed from Moeller being found guilty of a driving while impaired by alcohol. At the time, it was his third alcohol-related arrest in a span of four years.

Moeller, 51, was then the Baltimore Ravens’ offensive line coach. He spent six seasons with the Ravens before joining the Browns last year.

Browns coach Mike Pettine said Monday assistant offensive line coach George DeLeone will fill in for Moeller, and senior offensive assistant Kurt Roper will also help with the O-line.

(c)2015 Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

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