Vikings cornerback Chris Cook was found not guilty Friday of a misdemeanor charge of brandishing a gun during an argument with a neighbor in March in his hometown of Lynchburg, Va.
Cook and his attorney, Mark Arthur, said a judge dismissed the charge after a 90-minute hearing.
"I was never concerned," Cook said. "I had good witnesses. All of our stories matched each other. They decided they were basically trying to string this story together and just make me look bad. The judge ruled in my favor. ... The verdict was not guilty and he just dismissed it. I'm just happy to get it over with."
Cook admitted he got into a verbal confrontation with the man, but he denied brandishing a gun during the dispute. Cook said he was riding his bike near his home when a man who lives two houses down started screaming at him, which led to an argument.
The man went before a magistrate and swore out a criminal warrant against Cook, who was arrested and charged with a brandishing a firearm.
Cook, 24, said he has a license to carry a concealed weapon, but he denied pulling a gun.
"It definitely will make me smarter about how I react to other people and what they say to me or what they try and do to me," Cook said Friday. "It just makes me more cautious about what I say or how I react to other people."
A second-round pick in 2010, Cook had his rookie season ruined because of two knee injuries. He started five of the six games in which he played, but he never looked comfortable after having arthroscopic surgeries on both knees to repair torn meniscus.
Cook, who has been training at the University of Virginia during the NFL lockout, said his knees "feel great right now."
"I can't wait to get going," he said. "It's like I missed a whole year."
