Now that Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch has been cleared of this weekend’s allegations of assault and property damage, many people are wondering why the Bellevue Police Department even issued a press release naming Lynch in the first place.

We reached out to the Bellevue P.D. for an explanation. Here’s what we got from a spokesman:

The release was sent out because of inaccurate information on Twitter and other social media sites that were making much worse allegations (that Lynch was arrested), as well as media requests for the disclosable information. We determined that the right course of action was to release the facts of the allegations, via a news release, to ensure that all media, as well as the public, received the most up to date, factual information at the same time.

As recounted by the Bellevue Reporter, the police department began receiving media inquiries after Twitter user @dvainio erroneously tweeted that Lynch had been arrested in Bellevue. While the BPD was quick to respond on Twitter, saying Lynch had not been arrested early Sunday morning, the department decided to try to clear things up with a news release.

In the statement released Monday morning, a BPD spokesman said a detective was investigating a woman’s allegations that Lynch was the suspect in an assault and personal property damage case. Here’s the full text of that initial news release, which we reported Monday:

On August 10, 2014, at approximately 2:20 p.m., the Bellevue Police Department received an allegation of an assault and personal property damage at a downtown Bellevue apartment unit. The incident was alleged to have occurred at 2:30 a.m. on August 10. The female victim alleged that the suspect was Marshawn T. Lynch. No domestic violence or sexual assault was involved in the allegation. The case has been assigned to a detective and is an active investigation. The Bellevue Police Department is in the process of gathering the facts of this alleged incident, including verifying whether or not Mr. Lynch was in fact involved. No arrests have been made. There is no further information available at this time.

The story quickly went national. Most news outlets were careful to clearly report that Lynch had not been arrested and that Bellevue Police had not even been able to determine yet whether Lynch was involved in the alleged incident.

On Tuesday, the Seahawks released a brief statement in response to the investigation, calling the allegations “bogus.” Here is the full text of the team’s news release:

While we maintain the utmost respect for the investigative process, after speaking with Marshawn, we are comfortable these accusations are bogus.

The alleged incident occurred during Seahawks training camp, at which the NFL team’s players stay at a Bellevue hotel and are subject to a curfew. ESPN reported Wednesday that the Seahawks provided proof to the Bellevue P.D. that Lynch had been in his hotel room at the time of the alleged incident.

Wednesday evening, Bellevue Police issued a news release clearing Lynch of any involvement. Here is the full text, as we reported:

The Bellevue Police Department has determined that Marshawn Lynch was not involved in this incident in any way. This case remains an open and active investigation. We appreciate the cooperation we have received from Mr. Lynch and the Seahawks organization during this investigation.

The allegations came as a surprise to many Seahawks fans who felt Lynch had moved past his history of off-the-field troubles. Despite Lynch’s late arrival to training camp after holding out a week for more money, it appeared — based on anecdotal observation — that most 12th Men didn’t believe Lynch had been involved.

As it turned out, they were right.

How did Bellevue Police handle the Lynch allegations? Well. The police released their most accurate information to clear things up quickly.

Fine. Issuing a press release is easier than returning dozens of calls from reporters.

It doesn't really matter. The truth eventually came out. These things happen to celebrities.

Poorly. Issuing a news release, instead of fielding calls behind the scenes, seems kind of lazy.

Terribly. They shouldn't have named Lynch unless they had determined he was involved. View Results

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Visit seattlepi.com for more Seattle Seahawks news. Contact sports editor Nick Eaton at nickeaton@seattlepi.com or @njeaton.