Squad car video of ex-Gophers QB Nelson: 'I didn't kick anybody'

Newly released squad car video shows former University of Minnesota quarterback Philip Nelson right after he was arrested in May for an alleged assault in Mankato at bar-closing time.

Nelson was arrested by Mankato police after a fight with Isaac Kolstad. Kolstad suffered severe brain injuries after the encounter.

In the squad car video obtained by Mankato TV station, KEYC News 12, Nelson told a police officer, " Honestly, you know what, I was trying to find the guy who hit me and I couldn't …"

He told the officer, " I'm just confused as to why I'm the one getting arrested right now because I am the one who walked away."

A police officer off-camera replied to Nelson, "Well, because several people say they saw you kick him in the head."

Nelson seemed confused by that and asked, "Me though? They said Philip Nelson?"

When the officer told Nelson people identified him by name, Nelson told the officer, "That's the thing. They know me. I'm trying to walk away."

Kolstad suffered serious brain injuries in the fight that happened on a street in Mankato on May 11, as the bars closed.

According to witness statements, an angered Nelson shoved Kolstad, a 2013 graduate of Minnesota State, Mankato and a former football player for the school, after mistaking him for a bouncer who had kissed his girlfriend. Nelson and Kolstad, who were 20 and 24 years old at the time of the fight, were both intoxicated, police said.

Kolstad then knocked Nelson to the ground, but as he walked away, a third man, Trevor Shelley, punched Kolstad in the head. Surveillance video shows Kolstad dropping to the ground, his head smacking the pavement. Nelson then kicked Kolstad in the head.

Both Shelley and Nelson are charged with assault.

Recently, a prosecution expert said Nelson's kick had little, if anything to do with Kolstad's injuries. Nelson's attorney wants charges dismissed against his client.

Vineeta Sawkar • Twitter: @vsawkar