Steelers' Ward gracious despite being handcuffed at gunpoint by police in LA

**Jenna** · 05-07-11, 12:30 PM

For a brief time Thursday, Ward was detained at gunpoint in what was apparently a case of mistaken identity; car identity. Ward and a female friend were pulled over in her vehicle around 1:30 a.m. in North Hollywood after the woman driving the car had reported it stolen. Fortunately, Ward's experience went from a possible disaster to an opportunity for the Steelers wide receiver.
According to Los Angeles Police Sergeant Maria Morrison, Ward was removed from the car and handcuffed because the responding officers had no initial way of knowing who was driving or riding in the car they were informed was stolen. The female, her name unreleased, had reported the vehicle stolen on April 19 after she was unable to ascertain where a valet had parked it. After finding it, the woman never called the police department to cancel her report. While the police verified that the woman was indeed the owner of the car, Ward remained cooperative and in secure custody. Once the story was verified, Ward was released and allowed to once again enter the vehicle and leave the scene.

Ward, the usually hard-hitting player on the field, yet smiling teddy bear off of it, took the incident fairly well; insisiting to his fans via Facebook that he had no ill will towards the Los Angeles Police Department. His brief note to fans read:

To my fans,
The incident in the news that involved me getting pulled over. I want everyone to know that this was a complete misunderstanding. The police were just doing their job. Apologies were made and it's now in the past. Moving forward...Hines.

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