ATLANTA (July 15, 2005) -- Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Rod Coleman was arrested for misdemeanor disorderly conduct during a traffic stop, allegedly cursing at an officer and asking, "Do you know who I am?"

DeKalb police spokesman Sgt. Charles Dedrick said Coleman "was verbally abusive" to a police officer. Coleman was a passenger in a sports utility vehicle pulled over for speeding on an interstate just outside Atlanta. Another passenger, Sean Watson, was also arrested for disorderly conduct.

During the stop, the officer said he was telling the driver his car insurance was expired when Coleman said, "I wish you would touch my (expletive) truck. Do you know who I am? I play for the Falcons," according to the police report.

Then, according to the report, Coleman tried to walk away from the car and told the officer to shut up. The 6-foot-2, 285-pound Coleman, who is black, also requested a white officer.

The officer, A.C. Francis, complied and also let Coleman call his girlfriend. Francis wrote, "After granting Mr. Coleman every request he asked for besides letting him walk drunk on the interstate ... Mr. Coleman's insults continued and threats escalated until the only choice was to take him to jail."

Coleman spent about three hours in the DeKalb County Jail and was released on a $363 bond, said jail spokeswoman Mikki Jones.

Coleman came to the Falcons from the Oakland Raiders as a free agent in 2004. The Falcons released a statement confirming the arrest but providing no new details.

Coleman missed three games last season with knee and shoulder injuries sustained in a car accident.

He swerved to avoid hitting a deer and flipped his luxury SUV. He was not charged, but the Hall County Sheriff's accident report stated that Coleman had been drinking. According to the report, Coleman passed a series of field sobriety tests and didn't appear drunk.