EG: The sad story continues...

In his second encounter with law enforcement in a 10-day span, former Minnesota Vikings star Everson Griffen allegedly traveled 100 mph while high when he struck another vehicle on a Twin Cities interstate late at night over the weekend. He then fled the scene and was pulled over 15 miles away while driving recklessly, officials said Tuesday.

Griffen’s brushes with the law have accelerated and contributed to a long string of public safety incidents ranging from drunken driving to disrupting a commercial flight.

The 38-year-old former All-Pro defensive lineman was booked into the Hennepin County jail about 5:45 a.m. Saturday on suspicion of drug possession and driving under the influence. The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said a case has been presented to prosecutors for consideration of charges.

The South Lake Minnetonka Police Department spelled out the latest allegations against Griffen in a search warrant affidavit, made public in court records Tuesday, that led to a judge allowing police to collect a sample of his blood to be tested for illicit drugs.

An officer stopped Griffen about 1:25 a.m. Saturday after observing him speeding and driving recklessly in Shorewood near County Road 19 and Smithtown Road about 4 miles east of his home, according to the affidavit. Griffen showed “numerous signs of impairment [from] possible stimulant and narcotic use,” the affidavit read.

His vehicle appeared to have been in a crash earlier that night west of Minneapolis on Interstate 394 and Hwy. 100, authorities said. The State Patrol said Griffen sideswiped another vehicle and drove away.

On Aug. 26, state troopers answered a call around 2:50 a.m. about a man, who was later identified as Griffen, who was walking on the left shoulder of I-394 near Dunwoody Boulevard in Minneapolis, said Patrol Lt. Jen Krier.

The trooper made contact with Griffen, who “refused to comply with the troopers’ lawful commands,” Krier said. A trooper deployed a Taser, and Griffen was arrested. He was later charged with misdemeanor failure to comply with a peace officer.

Previous legal problems

• In July, Griffen was stopped by police in Winona, Minn., while reportedly driving 62 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone. Griffen was later charged for violating the terms of his probation related to a drunken driving offense. Authorities said he was driving a vehicle that lacked an ignition interlock, a system that only allows a vehicle to start if the device detects no alcohol on the driver’s breath.

• On Aug. 29, 2025, Griffen was ticketed for going 130 mph on Interstate 494 in Minnetonka while on probation for drunken driving. He was convicted and fined $378.

• Griffen was accused in July of last year of creating a scene on a flight soon after takeoff from Chicago to the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Delta Air Lines said pilots went back to O’Hare International Airport “to have an unruly passenger removed.” Griffen told the Minnesota Star Tribune that he challenged that characterization.

• In November 2024, Griffen was sentenced to a 60-day term for drunken driving in May 2024 on a Minneapolis interstate. He was put on four years’ supervisory probation.

• In July 2023, he was stopped in Chanhassen and accused of driving 60 mph in a 40 mph zone. His blood-alcohol content was 0.09%, above the legal limit. Griffen pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of careless driving and was placed on a year’s probation.

• In December 2023, in Shakopee, police stopped Griffen for driving 55 mph in a 30 mph zone. He was convicted of a petty misdemeanor in that case as well.

• In October 2023, Griffen crashed his car into a fence and gazebo in Mound. He was cited for failure to drive with due care, a petty misdemeanor.

• In November 2021, Griffen agreed to be taken to a mental health facility after telling emergency personnel that someone was in his home and he had fired a gun. Police found no one else there.

• Griffen also spent four weeks undergoing mental health treatment in 2018 after two incidents that September — one at the Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis, the other at his Lake Minnetonka area home — that prompted police involvement. He later revealed he lived in a sober house for the remainder of the 2018 season.

Strib