Charges Against Texas Tech Player Dismissed Because A Cop Thought A Survival Tool Was Brass Knuckles

Texas Tech wide receiver Myller Royals was arrested in September and charged with possession of a prohibited weapon and driving with an invalid license, both misdemeanors, the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reported.

The weapon Royals was alleged to have possessed was the weapon traditionally thought of as “brass knuckles,” whether they’re made of brass or not. Well, the district attorney got to looking at this, and dropped the charged when it turned out these knuckles were in fact a survival tool designed to help people escape cars from the inside, particularly while they’re sinking in water.

No photo of the evidence has been released, so it’s difficult to say how this mistake could have been made. Here is an Amazon list of “escape tools,” none of which look particularly like brass knuckles.

The most knuckles-looking version of this tool I can find is this one. It’s hard to imagine a police officer mistaking that for a pair of knuckles, though, so who knows.

Royals had the invalid license charge dropped as well, after clearing that up.