Steve Foley (linebacker)
Steve Foley (born September 11, 1975 in Little Rock, Arkansas) is a former professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He was drafted in the third round of the 1998 NFL Draft. High school years Foley attended Hall High School in Little Rock, Arkansas. In football, he was an All-Conference selection, All-State selection, and an All-American selection at both tight end and linebacker. Shooting incident On September 3, 2006, Foley was shot outside his house by off-duty police officer Aaron Mansker after Mansker observed Foley driving erratically at speeds ranging from 30 mph to 90 mph on a San Diego freeway. Mansker, wearing civilian clothes, followed Foley onto a local side street and identified himself as a police officer (but later testified he did not show him his badge) to no avail with Foley, who got out of the car to confront Mansker, then returned to his vehicle and continued driving. When Foley reached his home street he again exited his car and advanced on Mansker. Foley's passenger, Lisa Gaut, got into the driver's side and began to rev the vehicle. Gaut then drove the vehicle around Foley and toward Mansker, who fired two shots into the vehicle's hood in what he claims was self-defense. Foley continued to advance and Mansker fired a warning shot into the dirt, later testifying that he did so because earlier in the confrontation Foley had stated that he did not believe the gun was real. Mansker then saw Foley reach into his waistband and reacted by shooting Foley in the knee. Foley still continued to advance, causing Mansker to fire three more times. Foley was taken to a local hospital where the wounds were found to be non-life-threatening. He was placed on the non-football injury list the following day and did not play during the 2006 NFL season, forfeiting his $775,000 salary for the season. The incident occurred a week after Foley was cleared of multiple charges that included resisting arrest and battery of an officer. Foley was under the influence of alcohol as he was spotted staggering out of the San Diego nightclub Stingaree about half an hour before the officer spotted him and was found later to have had a blood-alcohol level of .233, nearly three times the legal limit of .08 (though prosecutors and Foley's defense attorneys have agreed on .16). Foley had been there with teammates following a Chargers team dinner and was spotted swaying around the club, hitting on waitresses. His passenger in the car was a woman he had met a few nights earlier and called to meet him at the club. On October 11, 2006, Foley was charged by prosecutors with two counts of driving under the influence. On May 3, 2007, Foley pleaded guilty to driving under the influence, a misdemeanor, and was given 5 years of informal probation, meaning he does not have to check in with a probation officer. His passenger, Lisa Gaut, was convicted on April 26, 2007 on charges of