Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt arrested, charged with domestic battery

Chiefs defensive backs coach Dave Merritt has been arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic battery.

The Kansas City Star reports that an Overland Park, Kansas, police officer arrested Merritt at about 8:50 p.m. Wednesday and he was booked into the Johnson County jail at about 10:25 p.m. No bond has been set.

On Thursday morning, the Johnson County District Attorney’s Office filed a complaint accusing Merritt of “unlawfully, knowingly, or recklessly” causing bodily harm to a daughter, according to the report.

Merritt is due in court today.

The 54-year-old Merritt has been the Chiefs’ defensive backs coach since 2019. He has previously held NFL coaching jobs with the Cardinals, Giants and Jets, and spent time as a college assistant coach. He was a 1993 seventh-round pick of the Dolphins and had a brief NFL playing career before going into coaching.

The Chiefs said they are aware of the arrest and have no comment. Merritt will likely be put on leave and the NFL will begin an investigation into a potential violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.