Cops Cuff Dancing With the Stars' NFL Pro Hines Ward in Stolen Car Mix-Up

Whoops! Footballer turned DWTS contestant mistakenly held at gunpoint by LAPD

By Josh Grossberg, Whitney English May 05, 2011 5:24 PMTags
DWTSABC/ADAM TAYLOR

Dancing With the Stars fans know Hines Ward is hot to trot. But as far as L.A.'s Finest was concerned, he was a passenger in a hot car.

The Pittsburgh Steelers star turned hoofer and a female driver were briefly detained and handcuffed at gunpoint during a traffic stop in Los Angeles this morning.

Was he really riding in a stolen car?

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A spokesman for the LAPD confirms to E! News that officers pulled over the 35-year-old Ward and his companion at approximately 2 a.m. and, guns drawn, ordered them out of the vehicle because it had been reported stolen. But it turns out it was all an unfortunate mistake.

"They were detained because police did believe it was stolen," said the spokesman. "They proved it was not, and they let them go on their way. The stolen vehicle report was canceled."

Per local affiliate WEWS Channel 5, the woman had actually reported her car stolen to authorities after an incident with a valet, but failed to call off the alert when she got it back. After explaining the situation while they were in custody, officers checked it out, verified her story and let them go.

The footballer took to his Twitter and Facebook page and chalked up the whole thing to a "misunderstanding."

"The incident in the news that involved me getting pulled over," Hines posted. "I want everyone to know that this was a complete misunderstanding. The police were just doing their job. Apologies were made and it's now in the past. Moving forward."