DANIA BEACH, Fla. – Team USA Olympic sprinter and San Antonio native Fred Kerley is maintaining his innocence after he was arrested and accused of hitting his ex-girlfriend earlier this month.
Broward County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched just after 7:45 p.m. local time on May 1 to the Le Méridien Dania Beach Hotel at the Fort Lauderdale Airport.
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According to the sheriff’s office arrest report obtained by KSAT on Monday night, deputies made contact with Alaysha Johnson, who is Kerley’s ex-girlfriend. She told them Kerley struck her “in the face with a closed fist.”
Johnson, who, like Kerley, is a professional track and field athlete for Team USA, was at the hotel to meet with her conditioning coach when she encountered Kerley, records show.
Johnson recently competed as a 100-meter hurdler at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. According to a report from WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, Florida, Johnson and Kerley were in the area that week to compete in the inaugural Grand Slam Track event, which ran from May 2-4 in nearby Miramar, Florida.
After first encountering him, Johnson told Broward County deputies that Kerley became aggressive and said “something to the effect of, ‘I’m going to f--- everyone up in here up.’” Kerley then punched her once in the face, “causing her nose to bleed,” the report states.
In the deputies’ report, Kerley refused to answer any questions from law enforcement. Kerley told authorities that he and Johnson dated for “approximately” six months before they broke things off in October 2024.
Kerley was arrested and booked into the Broward County Main Jail on a battery charge.
Johnson told deputies that she intended to press charges, provided a “sworn tape statement,” and had photographs taken of her injuries. According to the deputies’ report, Johnson’s injuries were consistent with her statements.
Kerley bonded out of jail on May 2, WPLG reported. He was also ordered to stay away from Johnson.
What happened after Kerley’s May 1 arrest
Kerley’s attorney, Richard L. Cooper, told WPLG on May 2 that he anticipates his client’s charge will be dismissed.
“These allegations lack merit, and the witnesses lack credibility,“ Cooper said in the statement to WPLG. ”My client (Kerley) was attacked unprovoked, and in the scuffle, someone else was unintentionally harmed. It should be noted that the attacker also got arrested that day.”
On May 4, Kerley released a statement regarding his most recent arrest on his Instagram account, which has more than 1.3 million followers.
The sprinter wrote that the “misunderstanding” prevented him from competing at the Grand Slam Track event.
“While there was a physical altercation, my arrest was not due to any criminal act,” Kerley said in a statement, in part.
In the post, Kerley claimed he was arrested because he refused to speak to any law enforcement officers until his “legal counsel was present.”
According to a document submitted by Cooper to a Broward County court on May 15, Kerley is pleading not guilty and is asking the court for this case to go to trial.
A copy of the court document has also been shared with the Florida State Attorney’s Office.
Kerley’s other arrests in 2025
According to a Jan. 2 police report obtained by KSAT, Kerley, who was 29 at the time, approached Miami Beach police with an “aggressive demeanor” because his vehicle was parked in the middle of an active police scene.
Officers told Kerley to “go around” the area of the police scene, but Kerley continued to argue with officers.
During the argument, one of the Miami Beach police officers raised his hand and pushed it up against Kerley to create distance between the officer and the Olympian, the report stated.
In the report, Miami Beach police wrote that Kerley responded by pushing the officer’s hand away from him. Officers then descended on Kerley, and a struggle began.
Body camera footage obtained by WPLG and the arrest report confirmed that one of the officers punched Kerley in the head multiple times and delivered “several elbows toward his upper back area.”
During the struggle, Miami Beach authorities said Kerley continued to resist arrest, the report stated.
The footage later showed Miami Beach police tase Kerley before he was arrested and taken to the Miami-Dade County jail. He was charged with battery against an officer, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
When Kerley went in front of a Miami-Dade County judge on Jan. 3, the judge told Kerley that he “was not at your best behavior here when dealing with these police officers.” The judge also suggested to the Miami Beach police sergeant that the incident “could have been handled a different way.”
While weighing Kerley’s lack of a previous arrest record as well as finding probable cause on the battery and resisting arrest charges, the Miami-Dade County judge ordered Kerley’s release on his own recognizance.
Later that week, Kerley was arrested and accused of strong-armed robbery and domestic violence in an incident stemming from May 2024.
According to an arrest report obtained by WPLG, Kerley allegedly strangled his wife, Angelica Taylor, twice in their Miami-area home.
Court documents show Kerley approached his wife in “an aggressive manner” before allegedly putting his hands on Taylor.
Kerley bonded out of jail on the strong-armed robbery and domestic violence charges on Jan. 4, WPLG reported.
Kerley medaled in the 100-meter dash in the two most recent Summer Olympic Games: a silver medal in 2020 and a bronze medal last year in Paris.
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic violence, there is so much help for you. KSAT has a list of resources on its Domestic Violence webpage, which also explains how to identify different types of abuse.
If it’s an emergency, text or call 911. For wrap-around services, including the Battered Women and Children’s Shelter, call Family Violence Prevention Services at (210) 733-8810.
You can also contact the Bexar County Family Justice Center, which also provides wrap-around services at (210) 631-0100.
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