PITTSBURGH -- Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Jeff Reed, who was arrested outside a North Shore bar just a few hours after helping his team beat the Cleveland Browns, had a message for fans on Wednesday.

"I decline talking about the charges, but I would like to say that I have the utmost respect for this community, this team and this organization," Reed said, discussing his situation for the first time during an open locker-room media session.

Reed added that he has spoken with Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, team president Art Rooney II and director of football operations Kevin Colbert, "and they told me what they thought, and it was not negative," Reed said. "There's a lot more investigating to do with this, and I'm not going to talk about it."

Reed, who's in the last year of his contract with the Steelers, also said he doesn't worry that his latest brush with the law will affect negotiations for a new deal.

"I apologize for this being a distraction to the team," Reed said. "For me, I can move on. There's been other players that have done this and have played well, so it's no excuse."

Fans were "very complimentary and very nice to me" when he attended Tuesday night's Penguins game at Mellon Arena, Reed said.

"They know that I love this community, I love Steeler Nation, so if I need to apologize to them, I do apologize to them and I will never let this city down," Reed said.

Despite the police incident, Tomlin says Reed will play against the Minnesota Vikings this weekend.

"I'm a captain of this team," Reed said. "It may not sound like it when stuff like this comes up, but I like to represent this team as well as I can. You know that through all of the charity stuff that I do and events like that."

Stay with us for updates this afternoon and watch John Meyer's report tonight on WTAE Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

Reed was placed into handcuffs Sunday night after a police incident on North Shore Drive, just up the street from Heinz Field, where he kicked two field goals in a 27-14 victory earlier that day.

Lt. David Piasecke, of the city's Zone 1 police station, said two officers were responding to an unrelated incident at McFadden's Restaurant and Saloon when they saw Reed's teammate, tight end Matt Spaeth, urinating next to a white sport utility vehicle in a parking lot at about 9 p.m.

Reed got out of the SUV and was told to get back inside, but he did not comply and he turned toward Sgt. David Krueger with a raised fist, Piasecke said.

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Although Reed was technically placed under arrest, he was not taken to the Allegheny County Jail and was released to his parents' custody at the scene. He will be mailed a summons to appear in court on misdemeanor charges of resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and simple assault.

Reed's Atlanta-based agent, Don Henderson, has said the kicker will dispute the police charges.

"You think he put his hands up to fight a police officer? You've got to be kidding me," Henderson told WTAE Channel 4's news exchange partners at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Monday. "That's ridiculous. Jeff Reed wouldn't fight anybody, so we disagree with the police."

When asked about Henderson's comments on Wednesday, Reed told reporters, "I'm not going to answer any questions about it. I told my agent to keep his mouth shut, because he doesn't know what's going on, so if you guys ask him, I told him the same thing."

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A spokesman for the National Football League confirmed that the NFL is looking into the incident, but Steelers spokesman Dave Lockett said he doesn't believe that is "out of the ordinary."

This is Reed's second brush with the law this year. He paid $543 in fines and restitution after pleading guilty to disorderly conduct and criminal mischief for damaging a paper towel dispenser in a New Alexandria Sheetz bathroom.

Spaeth spoke briefly during Wednesday's open locker room. He said he was sorry for causing a distraction, and he directed all questions abut the North Shore incident toward Tomlin.