Ex-NFL player Jonathan Martin detained after disturbing post led to school closing

A.J. Perez | USA TODAY

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Ex-NFL player Jonathan Martin was detained at a Los Angeles-area hospital where he went to seek treatment Friday after his threatening Instagram post led to his former high school closing for the day, a person familiar with the situation told USA TODAY Sports.

Martin was trying to check himself into the hospital, according to the person who was not authorized to speak publicly.

"The individual believed to be responsible for the social media post is being detained, however he is not in police custody," the LAPD spokesperson Tony Im told USA TODAY Sports in an email on Friday night. "The investigation is continuing, but rest assured we believe there is no threat to any school in the LA area."

Harvard-Westlake, a private high school in a Los Angeles suburb, was shut down Friday after threats posted to social media.

San Diego-based defense attorney M. Dod Ghassemkhani told USA TODAY Sports that when an individual is listed as detained, but not in police custody, it typically means one of two things: a psychiatric or medical hold.

“A psychiatric or medical hold means he’s going to be evaluated at a medical facility,” Ghassemkhani said. “If it’s a psychiatric hold, the person can be held indefinitely until they are deemed healthy enough to be booked into custody.”

The LAPD has not stated the reason for Martin’s detainment.

Psychiatric holds, under section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code, are utilized when it’s been determined a person “is a danger to others, or to himself or herself.”

The hold likely would only delay an arrest, Ghassemkhani said. If Martin were to be charged with making criminal threats, that could be either a misdemeanor or felony, according to Section 422 of the California Penal Code.

The shutdown of Harvard-Westlake comes a week after 17 people were killed in a mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Fla.

Students at Harvard-Westlake High in Studio City received an alert before school began stating the school was closed. Los Angeles police spokesperson Tony Kuey told USA TODAY Sports that officers from the department’s North Hollywood division responded to the school “after an Instagram post by a former student who is now an adult.”

Kuey said the department was unable to publicly confirm that Martin’s Instagram stories post was what caused the shutdown.

“When you’re a bully victim & a coward, your options are suicide or revenge,” Martin wrote in a photo of a shotgun with shells around it posted to his verified Instagram account. He used the hashtags #HarvardWestlake and #Miami Dolphins.

Former Dolphins OL Jonathan Martin with some seriously disturbing stuff on his IG story... pic.twitter.com/NaJ8a0BXze — Nick Brown (@NickyBeaster) February 23, 2018

A person who identified himself as Gus Martin, the name of Jonathan Martin’s father, said the family had no comment when reached via phone by USA TODAY Sports on Friday.

Martin attended Harvard-Westlake before playing at Stanford and was drafted by the Miami Dolphins. In 2013, he accused then-Dolphins teammate Richie Incognito of bullying, leading to Incognito's suspension.

Martin tagged Incognito and another former Dolphins teammate (Mike Poucey) in the post. He also tagged James Dunleavy, who attended Harvard-Westlake and was a walk-on basketball player at USC.

"Last evening, we learned of an Internet post that mentions Harvard-Westlake by name," Harvard-Westlake said in a statement. "Out of an abundance of caution, and because the safety of our students, faculty, and staff is our top priority, we made the decision to close school today. We are working closely with law enforcement and will share more information when we are able."

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