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Police say officer wrong in grabbing Packers’ Dillon at soccer match

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GREEN BAY – Green Bay Police Chief Chris Davis said an officer who grabbed Packers running back AJ Dillon at a soccer match in July violated two department policies.

Davis said in a statement Friday that he directed corrective action to be taken. He did not describe the policy violations.

“I apologize to Mr. Dillon for the way he was treated. We appreciate the strong relationship we have with the Packers organization, and the GBPD remains committed to working with them along with the entire Green Bay community to provide the best and most professional police service possible,” Davis said.

For his part, Dillon described the event at the Bayern Munich-Manchester City soccer friendly on July 23 as a miscommunication.

Several Packers players were in attendance to take part in the first international soccer match at Lambeau, and Dillon watched the game from the Bayern suite with Packers punter Pat O’Donnell.

Dillon and the officer came into contact during a rain delay. Dillon, who apparently did not have a field pass, came down from his suite to do a Lambeau Leap for fans.

While backing up, a police officer grabbed Dillon by the collar and jerked him backwards. Dillon pointed towards the stands, seeming to explain what he intended to do, and the officer then pushed him forward. Dillon and the officer both pointed towards the stands, with the latter seeming to tell the running back to get back in the stands. At that point, Dillon jumped back into the stands.

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In both a comment on the TikTok video and a tweet sharing the video, Dillon said, “Two security told me and helped me come down to the field during the 30 minute rain delay, so I could do a Lambeau leap and hype up the crowd&mldr ; I’m assuming he missed them telling me to come down.”

The next day, Dillon tweeted: “Just miscommunication between parties, the @GBPolice are great people and I’m glad we have them down there for our games to keep us safe. Standing there in the pouring rain with all those people it’s hard to know what’s going on with just one. All good.”

The Packers issued a statement Friday, as well.

“We appreciate the Green Bay Police Department’s follow-up to the interaction that occurred at the soccer match, July 23, at Lambeau Field. We respect their process in reviewing the situation and its conclusions. Additionally, we appreciate AJ Dillon’s professionalism in handling the matter.”

Contact Richard Ryman at (920) 431-8342 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @RichRymanPG, on Instagram at @rrymanPG or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RichardRymanPG/.