A police report has revealed more information about what happened following an alleged incident involving Minnesota Vikings star Everson Griffen at a Minneapolis hotel over the weekend.
The report from the Minnetrista Police Department explains that the department was contacted by another police department after Vikings Director of Security Kim Klawiter asked for a welfare check on Griffen’s wife and children.
Klawiter informed dispatch that he thought Griffen might be having a nervous breakdown stemming from an incident at Hotel Ivy in Minneapolis on Saturday, in which Griffen was removed for causing a disturbance, which we reported on earlier.
Klawiter worried that Griffen’s family may be in danger if he were to return to his Minnetrista home.
A police officer was able to get in contact with Griffen’s wife, who agreed to meet him at a local business. She told the officer that Griffen hadn’t been acting normal and that he’d woken up in the middle of the night on Sunday, Sep. 16, left home and didn’t return until Wednesday, Sep. 19.
She said Griffen has fought “demons” in his head and that it’s normal for him to leave the way he did. She also said Griffen, at one point, told her “I just want help.”
Mike Zimmer says he hadn't spoken with Everson Griffen since he Green Bay game.
"I've always loved Everson. He's been a really good role model for us. He's going through a tough time right now." -Zimmer
— Chris Long (@ChrisLongKSTP) September 25, 2018
The report also states that a Vikings official told police that Griffen had been “explosive, screaming and yelling” at Vikings headquarters in Eagan, prompting the Vikings to send a letter to Griffen and his agent this past Thursday saying he wasn’t allowed back without first receiving a mental health evaluation.
After the incident at the hotel on Saturday, Griffen turned up shirtless at the house belonging to Vikings cornerback Trae Waynes, with Griffen’s wife receiving a phone call from Waynes’ fiancee saying he had broken in and jumped through some bushes before leaving.
Griffen drove his truck to a gas station on Hwy. 7, got out and started walking around the gas pumps.
He saw a man he thought he knew, got into the passenger seat of the man’s truck, and told him to drive him home, before then changing his mind and telling him to go to the Hotel Ivy.
Police spoke to the driver, who didn’t know Griffen and told the officer he didn’t feel safe.
Officers stopped the vehicle a short time later, when Griffen agreed to be transported by ambulance to Fairview Hospital in Edina for a mental health evaluation.
Minnetrista police say no charges were filed and the case has been cleared.
If you or someone you know is having a mental health crisis, you can find your local adult mental health support numbers here.
