Jim Brown with his wife, Monique

September 2, 1999
Web posted at: 4:09 a.m. EDT (0809 GMT)

LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Monique Brown denied in court on Wednesday that her husband, former football star Jim Brown, threatened to kill her after an argument in June.

But she told the court her husband was extremely angry after the argument and said he was going to smash the windows of one of their cars.

Asked if she had been afraid during the incident, she said, "Absolutely not."

Later in the day, she told prosecutors "there have been no incidents of domestic violence" in her marriage. Under cross examination by Brown's attorney, she added, "My husband has never laid a hand on me and I have no reason to ever believe he would."

Brown, 63, is charged with one count of making "terrorist threats" against his wife and one count of vandalism. Brown pleaded not guilty to both counts.

The charges stem from a 911 call Mrs. Brown, 25, made on June 15 after an argument with her husband at their home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles.

In explaining that call, Mrs. Brown said, "I was desperate, I needed them to come out and mediate. ... I felt I needed to make (the incident) into something so (the police) would do what I wanted them to do."

Brown said she felt powerless and humiliated because she suspected her husband was having an affair.

On Tuesday, Officer Fernie Montesdeoca of the Los Angeles Police Department testified that Mrs. Brown was "visibly upset, crying, nervous -- she was shaken" when police arrived.

"She told me they argued and she was about to leave and he was going to kill her by snapping her neck," he said.

In court Wednesday, prosecutors questioned Mrs. Brown about what she told police that night. She admitted she told the 911 operator there had been a history of domestic violence but denied telling the police that.

She said they never asked. In further testimony, Brown said she told the police the claims were untrue when they arrived on the scene but they did not listen.

Asked whether she told police her husband threatened to kill her, she said: "He never threatened to kill me by snapping my neck."

She said her husband has apologized and admitted that breaking the car windows was the wrong thing to do.

Prosecutors also questioned her about arguments in the days preceeding the 911 call. Mrs. Brown said she confronted her husband about an affair on Sunday June 13 and he became frustrated with her when she left in the middle of the argument to go rollerblading with some friends visiting from out of town.

Mrs. Brown said her husband had been drinking during the days leading up to the argument, but attributed it to the recent death of a friend.

On the night of June 15, Brown said she had her own agenda and was "pushing his buttons." She told the court she was upset because she believed her husband was going to stop in Miami to see another woman. She described Brown as tired and frustrated and said she threatened to leave him.

After the argument, she left the house to cool off and at one point her husband came out of the house, angry and yelling.

"He looked at me and said 'I am going to break these f...-in' car windows,'" Brown testified.

She said she told him to go ahead and break the windows because it was his car and he would have to pay for the damage. However the city attorney pointed out that the car is registered in her name.

She said she then started to walk to a neighbors house and saw her husband pick up a shovel. She said she proceeded to the neighbors house and called 911 and said she never saw him break the car windows.

Asked if she was afraid, she said, "Absolutely not."