Charles Omenihu’s legal issues raise questions for Kansas City Chiefs

Charles Omenihu has pending misdemeanor domestic violence charges pending. How might that impact his availability for the upcoming season?

The Kansas City Chiefs have been relatively quiet in free agency which, for people who crave breaking news, has been incredibly frustrating. However, they haven’t been completely silent in the last few weeks. One of the bigger moves the Chiefs made was to sign former San Francisco defensive lineman, Charles Omenihu.

The signing looks great on the field, but legal questions surrounding Omenihu off the field raise some concerns.

On January 23, 2023, police were called to Omenihu’s home to investigate a domestic violence incident. According to the police report, his girlfriend alleged he pushed her down during an argument. He was arrested at the time for misdemeanor domestic violence and an emergency protective order was put in place.

The alleged incident occurred while Omenihu was still part of the 49ers and during the playoffs immediately before the 49ers’ game against the Philadelphia Eagles. At the time, head coach Kyle Shanahan said he was healthy and felt the legal process would play out—that he would be kept on the team, and would be available to play.

What does this pending legal issue do to Omenihu’s availability for the coming season?

We all know the NFL is frustratingly inconsistent in its application of the personal conduct policy, but if Omenihu must go through a criminal trial and process, his availability could be even more in doubt.

Presently, there is little information out there about the status of Omenihu’s charges. I suspect investigations are occurring and a potential plea deal is in the works. If Omenihu wants to avoid a trial and possible heightened penalties, he may try to work a plea with the prosecutor. For a misdemeanor, he is probably looking at something fairly small— deferred jail time (which would mean he must behave for a period of 1-2 years and then he does not serve any jail time), fines, etc. If that is the case, the Chiefs would not have to worry about his lack of navailability because he is locked up.

I suspect that Brett Veach and the Chiefs did a full vetting of Omenihu, including any pending charges. However, it still seems Omenihu may have a suspension on the horizon. Remember that Willie Gay Jr. missed four games last year for throwing a vacuum (misdemeanor criminal damage). The Chiefs’ defense struggled through the beginning of the year because players missed time. I think we may see something similar here.

Of course, it is entirely up to the NFL to determine whether they enforce the personal conduct policy and I do think they will here. We probably see a 4 game stretch with Omenihu watching from home but I don’t think we are going to see much more than that. More than anything, I do not think we will see Omenihu getting anywhere close to a criminal trial and we may hear soon about a plea deal.