Ravens assistant coach charged with threatening call to woman

BALTIMORE (AP) -- Baltimore Ravens assistant coach Bennie Thompson was charged Monday with violating a protective order after a woman told police he threatened her over the phone.
Thompson, one of coach Brian Billick's 14 assistant coaches, was released on his own recognizance at a bail review hearing Monday morning, said Thompson's attorney, Terry Lavenstein.
The woman Thompson called Sunday night, Nikki Walden, is a friend of a former girlfriend of Thompson's, Lavenstein said. The attorney said he believes the charges will not stand, because the protective order signed by a judge last week applies not to Walden but to Thompson's former girlfriend.
Claims, counterclaims
Walden told police Thompson threatened to kill her. Thompson's attorney said the former Ravens player didn't threaten Walden when he called her Sunday night.
"He spoke to her. She says it was a threat, but he swears he didn't even raise his voice. The call certainly wasn't to harass her in any way," Lavenstein said.
Thompson called Walden to find out why his former girlfriend had filed for the protective order, Lavenstein said.
Police arrested Thompson at his Pikesville, Md., home at about 10 p.m. Sunday. He was released at about 9 a.m. after the hearing.
The Ravens hired Thompson as an assistant coach after the 1999 season, when he ended his career as a player.
Thompson played for the Ravens from 1996 to 1999 after spending 1994 and 1995 with the Cleveland Browns.