He didn't do it — and now police are saying it, too. 
 
 Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Lucky Whitehead was wrongly implicated in a shoplifting arrest in Virginia last month, Prince William County police confirmed Tuesday — an incident that apparently led the team to drop him just hours after a training camp practice Monday. 
 
 In a statement about the mix-up, police said they acted in "good faith" when they initially investigated the case involving Whitehead, whose actual first name is Rodney. But they pledged to work with the Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorneys Office to officially clear the young NFL player. 
 
 Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Lucky Whitehead runs onto the field for practice at the NFL team's football training camp in Oxnard, California, on July 24, 2017. Michael Owen Baker / AP 
 
 The bizarre episode kicked off when someone stole items at a Wawa convenience store on June 22, and the clerk pointed out the suspect at the scene, police said. That man did not have identification on him, but verbally provided a name, date of birth and Social Security Number that matched Whitehead's. 
 
 Officers verified the information through the state Department of Motor Vehicles database, and compared the photo of 25-year-old Whitehead in the system with the man arrested. 
 
 The suspect was let go and given a July 6 summons to appear in court on a misdemeanor petty larceny charge after the items were determined to be less than $200. 
 
 Police apparently had no reason to believe the man they questioned at the time was not Whitehead, who is from Manassas in Prince William County. Police Sgt. Jonathan Perok told NBC News that "we have no idea" how the man had obtained that data. 
 
 "At this point, the police department is also confident in confirming that Mr. Whitehead's identity was falsely provided to police during the investigation," police said in a statement. "The police department is currently seeking the identity of the man involved in the incident." 
 
 The police department added that it "regrets the impact" that the incorrect information had on Whitehead. 
 
 “ It cost my player his job. He deserved better from law enforcement.” 
 
 The football player's agent, David Rich, said police dropped the ball during its investigation and is "disappointed" by the error. 
 
 "It cost my player his job," Rich said in an email. "He deserved better from law enforcement. We all do." 
 
 Whitehead was eventually alerted to his involvement in the case when the man who claimed to be him was absent during a court hearing and a warrant was put out for Whitehead's arrest. 
 
 Whitehead maintained his innocence when the news broke and said he wasn't even in Virginia when the incident occurred. 
 
 "I don't know who got arrested in Virginia. But it wasn't me. I NEVER once had an altercation with the cops. And come to find out, this happened, they say, at 1:34 a.m. at a Wawa in Woodbridge, Virginia [on a day] that I was in Dallas until 11:20 a.m.," he told CowboysHQ.com. 
 
 Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said in a statement Monday that Whitehead was cut after he was given "a lot of different chances along the way going back to last year. I think we just decided it was time to go in a different direction." 
 
 Whitehead, who joined the team in 2015 with a three-year, $1.58 million contract, also made headlines recently for saying on social media that his dog was stolen and taken for ransom. The dog was later recovered. 
 
 A Cowboys spokesman did not return an email seeking comment following the announcement of Whitehead's innocence. 
 
 Whitehead told the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday that he doesn't know who could have obtained his personal information and feels hurt that his team didn't give him the chance to clear his name. 
 
 "Let's not sugarcoat anything," Whitehead said. "I was pretty much being called a liar." 
 
 When asked whether Whitehead would seek his job back or why the team has kept other players who have courted controversy, including star running back Ezekiel Elliott, his agent declined to comment. 
 
 "I've got thoughts but probably best I don't share them," Rich said. ||||| OXNARD, California -- Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett's news conference was dominated by talk of recently cut wide receiver Lucky Whitehead and only Whitehead. 
 
 The coach spoke for a little more than three minutes. 
 
 Here is the transcript of the back-and-forth between the media and Garrett. 
 
 On whether he regrets Whitehead's being cut and whether he will address the team about the move: 
 
 Garrett: Yesterday we made a decision that was deemed to be in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. We're standing by that decision. We're going to move on. 
 
 On whether the decision to cut Whitehead was based on the idea of the arrest: 
 
 Garrett: Yesterday we made a decision we felt was the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. We're going to stand by that decision. We're going to move on. 
 
 On whether it is fair to Whitehead to say the same thing over and over: 
 
 Garrett: It's the truth. We made a decision we felt was in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. 
 
 On whether there are some people working for the Dallas Cowboys who are just too stupid to work for this team: 
 
 Garrett: I'll stand by the statement that I made. We made a decision yesterday that we felt was in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. We're going to stand by that decision. We're going to move forward. 
 
 On sending the wrong message by rushing to judgment: 
 
 Garrett: Yesterday we made a decision that we felt that was in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. We're going to stand by that decision. We're going to move forward. 
 
 On why the decision wasn't made before camp: 
 
 Garrett: Again, guys, I'm not going to continue to address this. We made a decision that we felt was in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. We're going to stand by that decision and we're going to move on. 
 
 On whether he knows something the media doesn't: 
 
 Garrett: We know lot a lot of things about our players that you guys don't know. 
 
 On why, if team officials knew more, Whitehead was on the team in the first place: 
 
 Garrett: Guys, we made a decision yesterday that we felt was in the best interest of our team. And in evaluating the particular situation and the context of that situation, we felt like we made a decision in regards to Lucky that was right for our team. And we stand by that decision. 
 
 On whether Garrett was happy it turned out Whitehead was not involved: 
 
 Garrett: I think the best thing for Lucky is to have a clean slate. And he'll have a new opportunity somewhere else. That's good for him. And again, it's in the best interest of our football team. 
 
 On whether Whitehead said he did not do it: 
 
 Garrett: We had a number of conversations regarding this. And again, we made a decision that we think is in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. 
 
 On why others with issues are still on the roster: 
 
 Garrett: Guys, this will be the last time I'll say it. I appreciate your interest in it. We made a decision yesterday in regards to Lucky Whitehead that we think is in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys. We're standing that by that decision. We're going to move forward. If you have any other football questions, I’m happy to answer them. 
 
 He was met with silence.
– "Lucky" Whitehead's first name hasn't proved prescient lately, though he doesn't bear any fault in the most recent matter. Whitehead (whose real first name is Rodney, per NBC News), who used to be a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys, was cut from the team Monday during training camp after a case of mistaken identity in a Virginia shoplifting incident—and Prince William County cops there now admit they've discovered he had nothing to do with the crime. A man busted at the scene for stealing items at a Wawa convenience store on June 22 was questioned by police and verbally provided his name, date of birth, and Social Security number, as he didn't have ID on him—all of which matched Whitehead's. The suspect was released, but when he blew off a court hearing for the case, an arrest warrant was issued, with Lucky Whitehead's name on it. After the news came out, Whitehead was released from his employer, with a team exec alluding to past incidents: "We just decided it was time to go in a different direction." At a Tuesday presser, Cowboys coach Jason Garrett was asked about the mix-up and release—Prince County Police now say they "regret the impact" of their error, though they add they acted in "good faith" based on their information—but Garrett simply repeated 10 times, in different variations, per ESPN: "We made a decision we felt was in the best interest of the Dallas Cowboys." Meanwhile, Whitehead tells the Dallas Morning News he was "blindsided." "Let's not sugarcoat anything. I was pretty much … called a liar," he adds, though he notes his teammates believed him. "He deserved better from law enforcement. We all do," Whitehead's agent tells NBC, demurring when asked if they would try to get his job back.