Full details of the allegations of domestic violence and false imprisonment against Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook have been revealed in the lawsuit filed against him in Dakota County District Court on Wednesday.
The lawsuit, filed by Cook’s former girlfriend Gracelyn Trimble, accuses Cook of battery, assault and false imprisonment. Trimble, who according to the lawsuit met Cook in 2018 on a beach in Florida where she was stationed as a sergeant in the U.S. Army, accuses Cook of being violent on numerous occasions.
Warning: Details in the case are graphic
According to the lawsuit, Trimble was the victim of violent physical abuse at the hands of Cook on numerous occasions, with the most jarring alleged attack happening after Trimble says she broke up with the 26-year-old after she said she learned that he had been unfaithful.
The suit says Trimble learned of Cook being unfaithful while she was in the hospital for a miscarriage of Cook’s child in March 2020. A week later they had a “physically violent argument, where cook pushed Trimble, and the pair broke up,” the lawsuit says.
They got back together in May 2020 and on Nov. 18, 2020, Trimble recognized the woman with whom Cook allegedly cheated in an Instagram post showing her in Cook’s Inver Grove Heights home, prompting Trimble to fly to Minnesota to gather her belongings.
When she arrived in Minnesota on Nov. 19, 2020, she had a garage door opener for Cook’s residence. The lawsuit says she entered through the garage, grabbed mace that she stored in the garage as a precaution due to Cook’s alleged violent behaviors in the past, and went inside to get her stuff.
She asked Cook to help her get her things, at which point she alleges Cook became angry, saying he “grabbed her arm, and slung her whole body over the couch, slamming her face into the coffee table and causing her lower forehead and the bridge of her nose to bust open and start gushing blood.”
Trimble attempted to spray the mace at Cook but due to Cook’s “overpowering strength” the mace was primarily sprayed into her eyes.
Trimble ran outside to get away, but returned inside to take a shower in an effort to get the mace out of her eyes. At that point, the lawsuit says “Cook met Trimble upstairs as she attempted to walk into the bedroom, picked her up, and slammed her on the floor,” causing a “deep gash in her arm where she began to bleed.”
“Cook jumped on top of Trimble, pinned her to the ground, and repeatedly screamed at her and told her she was going to die,” the lawsuit says. “Cook punched and choked Trimble and then grabbed the gun he kept in his bedroom and pointed it at Trimble’s head, all while yelling death threats.”
When Cook’s house guest heard screams, he went upstairs and “began to fight Trimble,” the lawsuit says. When Trimble fought back, “Cook punched Trimble in the face.”
“After this exchange, Cook went downstairs and sat on the bathroom floor with his head in his hands and rocked back and forth,” the suit claims. The physical assault continued with Cook throwing her against a wall and slamming her head against an electrical outlet on the floor, which caused a gash on the back of her head.
“Cook kicked Trimble while she was laying helpless on the ground, as blood pooled around her head, and yelled ‘you’re going to die,'” the lawsuit says.
When she attempted to run for help down Cook’s driveway, Cook chased her down, picked her up and would not allow her to leave or call for help, according to the suit.
The next day, Cook allowed Trimble to leave. He took her to the airport and she hid her injuries with a hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses and a mask. Trimble eventually went to an emergency room in Florida on Nov. 25 and told doctors that she was involved in an ATV accident. They confirmed she had suffered a concussion and several deep cuts and bruising, but were skeptical of her story.
Cook and Trimble reconnected following the death of Cook’s father, but the relationship again deteriorated and they broke up again at the end of January 2021. They saw each other off and on until May, at which point another alleged violent encounter caused Trimble to “distance herself from Cook permanently.”
Photos of Trimble’s injuries, text message from Cook
The lawsuit includes photographic evidence of the injuries Trimble says she suffered in the alleged attack, as well as a text message exchange between Cook and Trimble.
The message from Cook reads: “I know what I did can’t be rewind but I just want you to know I’m sorry I love you so much despite you thinking I don’t or never did but I do! Whatever you need I’m here for you! And if you wanna go to the police I’ll respect that I’ll take my punishment for what I did!”
Cook: ‘I’m the victim in this situation.’
Prior to news of the suit against Cook being reported by the Star Tribune on Tuesday, Cook’s agent reached out to ESPN’s Adam Schefter and told him that the running back had been the victim of domestic abuse at the hands of Trimble, who he claims held him hostage in his home with a firearm, attacked him, and used pepper spray on him.
Cook’s agent also alleged that Trimble tried to extort Cook for “millions of dollars.”
Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Cook continued to state his innocence, saying: “I’m the victim in this situation.”
“The facts of the situation will come out,” Cook said. “I’ve been through a lot of tough things in my life but I have my head up high and know the truth will come out.”
LIVE: RB Dalvin Cook talks to the media https://t.co/fwDacAXMpI
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 10, 2021
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero obtained a full statement from Cook’s attorney, saying Cook’s former girlfriend broke into Cook’s home with a stolen garage door opener and then attacked him without provocation, punching him “repeatedly” and macing Cook and two of his house guests.
Statement from #Vikings RB Dalvin Cook’s attorney, David Valentini, responding to a civil lawsuit filed today by a woman who alleges Cook assaulted her last year. pic.twitter.com/fzyVbKQZ41
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) November 10, 2021
Vikings aware of the situation
It’s unclear if Cook will participate when the Vikings practice Wednesday from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
“Honestly, I don’t know that much about the situation,” head coach Mike Zimmer said. “I was told that the NFL said this was a civil matter. It is what it is. I don’t know that much about it, honestly.”
The Vikings issued a statement Tuesday night confirming their knowledge of the situation, saying they “are in the process of gathering more information and will withhold further comment at this time.”
