Video emerges of Sha’Carri Richardson shoving boyfriend at Seattle airport prior to arrest
Editor’s note: This story includes a description of alleged domestic violence.
A week after reports that sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson had been arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, video of the incident has emerged. Richardson was arrested after an argument with her boyfriend and was charged with fourth-degree domestic assault. The case has since been cleared.
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TMZ published security footage of the incident, which took place on July 27. The footage shows Richardson repeatedly shoving her boyfriend, fellow sprinter Christian Coleman, as they walked around the airport concourse. At one point, Richardson pushed Coleman into a large pole.
Police arrested Richardson after viewing security footage of the altercation. The sprinter was held in South Correctional Entity in Des Moines, Washington, that evening and stayed there for nearly 24 hours before being released on July 28, according to jail records.
Coleman reportedly refused to press charges after the incident. Coleman and Richardson went public with their relationship in February, though Coleman reportedly told police that the two have been together for two years.
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Under Washington State law, calls related to domestic violence require mandatory arrest if police respond within four hours of the incident.
Following the incident, Richardson took part in the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon, last weekend. Despite advancing to the semifinals of the women’s 100-meter race last Thursday, Richardson later pulled out of that competition.
She went on to compete in the 200-meter race Sunday, but fell short of the cut to advance to the finals in the event.
At the time that reports came out about the arrest, USATF told USA TODAY that it was aware of the incident, but did not provide additional comment. The organization has yet to comment following the release of the security video.
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As the reigning world champion in the 100 meters, Richardson will automatically qualify for the event at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
