U-M football staffer accused of biting, choking in drunk driving arrest

A staff member of the University of Michigan football program is accused of a strange assault.

Fergus Connolly is accused of resisting arrest, grabbing a security guard by the throat and biting a lab technician.

"His behavior was bizarre," said Lt. Matthew Lige, Ann Arbor police. "It's clear that there was some outside influence that was affecting his decision-making that morning."

Previously with the San Francisco 49ers, Connolly is now director of performance science for Michigan football. But last Monday, Ann Arbor police say Fergus Connolly refused to even tell them his name.

"He was using profanity," Lige said. "He was uncooperative with every aspect of the investigation."

At about noon on March 5, police received several 911 calls saying a man driving a dark-colored SUV was smashing into parked cars on Mosley near Main Street.

"The dark-colored SUV was not in the immediate vicinity of where it was reported," Lige said.

Investigators say another 911 call said a man not dressed for the cold weather was sitting on a snowbank acting angry and disoriented.

Two blocks away police found Connolly's Chevy Tahoe falling apart and Connolly who had glassy eyes, was slurring and barely able to stand began screaming at police. He was swearing, and refusing to say who he was or how he got there.

"And his feet were bloody because he wasn't wearing any shoes," Lige said. "His abusive, bizarre, profane behavior continued."

Police eventually were able to arrest Connolly on suspicion of driving drunk but he refused a breathalyzer. 

Police got a search warrant to withdraw his blood but when he arrived at the hospital, Connolly was still combative, allegedly grabbing a security guard by the throat.

"And he actually bit one of the attendants while they were in the process of drawing his blood," Lige said.

A spokesperson with the university's athletic department did not give an update on Connolly's job status Wednesday, but adds that although he is employed by the department, he hasn't been working with the program since returning from the Outback Bowl game in January.

Meanwhile as police wait about four weeks for toxicology results to come back, they say it's likely Connolly's manic Monday was not just the result of alcohol.

Lige said that more charges are likely.