MINNEAPOLIS — Former Minnesota Vikings great Carl Eller refused to cooperate with Minneapolis police officers during a run-in last April because he knew he was drunk and he wanted to delay or prevent an alcohol test, a judge said on Friday.

Judge Dan Mabley's seven-page ruling

also said police did not use excessive force when arresting the Hall of Famer.

Mabley found Eller guilty on Monday of fourth-degree assault of an officer and second-degree refusal to submit to chemical testing. His written ruling on Friday outlines the verdict that stems from an incident in which Eller nearly hit a squad car and then became combative when police tried to arrest him at his home.

The 67-year-old Eller will be sentenced Feb. 23, and his attorney, Albert Goins, has indicated he may appeal. Goins did not answer his phone Friday and his voice mailbox was full.

Eller, one of the Vikings' celebrated "Purple People Eaters" in his 15 years with the team from 1964-78, told The Associated Press by phone that he was never asked to take an alcohol test, and he never refused such an offer.

"They had lots of time to ask me to take the test, but they never used that time to ask me to take the test," he said.

The ruling said officers at the station's Chemical Testing Unit read Eller an implied consent advisory, which assumes a motorist consents to a chemical test. The ruling said Eller initially said he was not refusing to take the test, but then he refused to say he understood the advisory and debated with officers about whether he was under arrest.

"The Court concludes that the Defendant knew he was intoxicated and was not cooperating with officers in order to delay or prevent alcohol testing," Mabley wrote.

In reviewing the evidence, Mabley found that Eller had been drinking at Bunker's bar in Minneapolis, and early on April 9 he drove through a stop sign and swerved toward a squad car, just missing it. Officers followed Eller, but he did not stop until he pulled into his driveway.

Mabley found that once Eller stepped out of his vehicle, he did not obey commands to show his hands and he resisted arrest. Officers used a Taser, but it had no effect. During the scuffle, officers pushed Eller and attempted to put him in a neck restraint, while Eller punched one officer in the face and threw another against a vehicle. Mabley's ruling said the officers thought Eller smelled of alcohol and had difficulty walking.

The officers called for backup and Eller was eventually arrested.

Mabley ruled that Officer Gilles Antaya was assaulted during a lawful arrest and that "Antaya used reasonable force that was necessary to make the arrest and overcome the Defendant's resistance."

Eller disagreed, saying officers used a Taser on him more than once.

"I don't know how many Tasers they used on me, and those can be fatal," Eller told the AP. "They hit me over the head with their flashlight — with a piece of equipment. ... I never was offered any medical treatment. It's obvious that it was excessive force."

In a separate case in federal court, Eller has sued the police, claiming officers violated his civil rights, used excessive force and concealed videotape evidence of his arrest.

In 2006, Eller pleaded guilty to fourth-degree drunken driving after refusing a chemical alcohol test.