NFL notes: Browns receiver Bess arrested

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Davone Bess was arrested Friday on charges of assaulting a law enforcement officer at an airport, the latest in a series of personal problems.

According to an arrest report, Bess was approached by Deputy Thomas O’Brien inside the Fort Lauderdale/ Hollywood International Airport terminal because he was “acting irrationally, dancing, singing with his pants repeatedly falling down.”

“I inquired if he was all right and received no response,” O’Brien said in the report, adding later that Bess “appeared to be looking through me” while they talked.

Bess, 28, then picked up a cup of hot coffee from a counter and squeezed it, “which caused the cup to break with the liquid going all over my uniform,” the deputy wrote. Bess then took up a “fighting stance,” and O’Brien said he hit the player on the leg with a baton to no effect.

“Bess proceeded to take off his shirt and once again took up a fighting stance refusing my repeated orders to get on the ground,” O’Brien said, adding that Bess was taken into custody when backup officers arrived.

Sheriff’s office records show that Bess is charged with simple assault on an officer, resisting arrest without violence and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors.

Bess was released on $100 bail.

Saints’ Bush fined for hit on Harvin

Saints safety Rafael Bush was fined $21,000 by the NFL on Friday for his hit on the Seahawks’ Percy Harvin during an NFC divisional-round game.

Harvin was blasted in the helmet by Bush on Seattle’s opening possession last Saturday, a hit that drew a 15-yard penalty.

Extra points

Mike Zimmer’s first opportunity to be an NFL head coach has arrived with Minnesota, at age 57 after 35 years as an assistant and two full decades in the NFL. Zimmer was introduced by the Vikings, two days after he was hired to replace Leslie Frazier. Zimmer said he has a chip on his shoulder about letting the rest of the league know he’s ready to coach. … Jim Haslett will remain with the Redskins as defensive coordinator under new coach Jay Gruden. … Lions coach Jim Caldwell hired Teryl Austin as his defensive coordinator. … Titans coach Ken Whisenhunt has hired Chargers assistant Jason Michael to be Tennessee’s offensive coordinator.