Ex-NFL LB Micheal Barrow Arrested After Accidentally Punching Wife, Cops Say

1:13 PM PT -- TMZ Sports has now obtained an unredacted copy of the incident report ... and it states it was Micheal Barrow's minor son who the former linebacker had been quarreling with.

According to the docs, Shelley wrapped herself around her and Barrow's child to try to calm him down ... and then was inadvertently struck.

The docs state Barrow's other, older son "witnessed his mom on the ground" and Barrow "punching his younger brother," so he raced in and wrestled with Barrow before the ex-New York Giant was ultimately arrested for his alleged behavior.

Former NFL linebacker Micheal Barrow -- a second-round pick in the 1993 draft -- was arrested on Tuesday after cops say he inadvertently hit his wife during a wild family dispute at an airport.

Police documents TMZ Sports has obtained state the incident all started at around 9 PM on Monday just outside Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.

According to the docs -- which are heavily redacted -- Barrow and some of his family members had been involved in an argument on their way to the airport that escalated once they got to their terminal.

Officers wrote in the incident report that someone taunted Barrow, and when the ex-New York Giant threatened to punch them ... his wife, Shelley, stepped in to break things up.

"Unfortunately," the docs state, Barrow inadvertently struck Shelley "in the face, which caused her to fall on the ground."

Barrow then allegedly punched the person he had been quarreling with "in the face with a closed fist." A wrestling match then ensued, cops wrote.

Barrow was ultimately arrested ... and booked in a Broward County jail on a charge of battery.

Court records show he issued a not guilty plea to the allegations on Wednesday.

Barrow played for four different teams in his NFL career -- including the Oilers, Panthers, Giants and Cowboys. Prior to his tenure in the pros, he starred at the Univ. of Miami, winning two national championships.