Police have released footage of the September arrest Tennessee linebacker Jeremy Banks, where he tells officers, “Where I’m from, we shoot at cops.”
The arrest took place on September 15th, after Banks was pulled over for an illegal U-turn. During the course of the traffic stop, police discovered the 19-year-old had an outstanding warrant.
Banks tells the officers that he plays for the Tennessee Volunteers, and asks them to call his head coach Jeremy Pruitt.
The officers do get Pruitt on the phone, though, despite being aware of the previous traffic ticket, Pruitt says he did not not know about Banks’ warrant for failing to appear in court.
Banks eventually becomes belligerent with the officers while sitting in the back of the cruiser.
“I don’t like the police, bro. Hell nah. Y’all police are some p*****s, bro. Real shit, I don’t f*ck with y’all.”
Directing his tirade at a female doing a ride-along with the officers, Banks said: “You don’t wanna be an intern because where I’m from we shoot at cops. I’m from Memphis, Tennessee.”
The video released by WBIR is over an hour long, however, Banks begins ranting at the officers around the 13:50 mark.
Banks released a statement apologizing for the incident on Tuesday.
“I want to sincerely apologize to my family, the University of Tennessee and the law enforcement community. I deeply regret my language and attitude in the video.”I have great respect for our policemen and women, and I am embarrassed by my actions that night. That’s not who I am. I promise to be a better representative for the University of Tennessee moving forward.”
Volunteers head coach Jeremy Pruitt also commented on the matter, “We will address the matter internally. I’m determined to do what I can to help Jeremy grow up and become a better man. Our team and staff respect our law enforcement and we will continue to educate our players on how to carry themselves at all times.”
Banks did not play in Tennessee’s game against Florida on September 22nd.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn