Indianapolis- Indianapolis Colts cornerback Nick Harper played in Sunday's playoff game with three stitches in his right knee from a filet knife, the result of a domestic disturbance over the weekend in which his wife, Daniell Harper was arrested.
Harper's wife told police she accidentally stabbed her husband while waving a filet knife at him during an argument, according to court documents.
It happened Saturday at 3:48 p.m., when Hamilton County Sheriff's deputies were called to the Harper home at 10738 Stratton Circle in Carmel.
Hamilton County Sheriff Doug Carter said they found Nick Harper conscious and alert. He was transported to St. Vincent's Hospital where he was treated and released. Carter said the injury was non life-threatening.
"He leaned back in the bed, and when he did apparently his right leg came up at which time the knife went into his right knee just above his knee cap," Carter explained.
"There were two knives involved. One was a folding buck knife; the one that was used to inflict the injury was a full-sized steel blade filet knife."
Daniell Harper, 31 was charged with battery with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, a Class D felony. She was booked into the Hamilton County Jail without bond.
"I don't think this began as a violent confrontation between the two," said Sheriff Carter. "I think this began as a conversation between the two that escalated."
Police said Daniell Harper told them she was upset because her husband would not speak to her, and she got a filet knife from a kitchen drawer and began waving the knife over him from side to side as he lay in bed at their home.
Carter said he was waiting for a judge to determine the conditions for the woman's release. The county prosecutor also must review the case.
The couple's three children were inside the home at the time of the alleged assault. They have been placed with relatives.
Officers responded to a domestic violence incident at the Harper home in June, at which time Nick Harper was arrested for domestic battery after his wife suffered an abrasion near her eye. Nick Harper still faces charges for that incident.
In a statement issued Sunday by the Colts organization, president Bill Polian said, "Our focus yesterday and this morning was on the welfare of Nick and his children. Those issues have been dealt with satisfactorily."
Polian said Harper's wound was an inch deep and a half-inch wide. It required three stitches, but Polian said there was no damage to the knee joint or capsule.
Harper had been listed as questionable after the injury but started in Sunday's 21-18 playoff loss to Pittsburgh.
