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Video Surfaces of Michael Bennett Being Handcuffed After Mayweather-McGregor
September 6, 2017
Video of an officer handcuffing Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett and taking him to the ground after the Aug. 26 Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight in Las Vegas surfaced Wednesday—hours after the Pro Bowler released a statement on the situation.
TMZ Sports obtained the video (Warning: NSFW language):
TMZ added, "Sources connected to the investigation tell TMZ Sports ... when cops responded to the club for a possible shooting, they ordered everyone to get down and not move so they could properly search and investigate. We're told Bennett did not stay put -- instead, he ran -- and a cop outside the club stopped him and ordered him down to the ground at gunpoint. Our sources say Bennett was detained until cops could determine he was not involved in any possible criminal activity ... and he was released."
Bennett, 31, tweeted a statement earlier Wednesday saying the officers used excessive force. He said the initial officer pointed a gun at his head and threatened to "blow [his] f--king head off."
"The Officers' excessive force was unbearable. I felt helpless as I lay there on the ground handcuffed facing the real-life threat of being killed," Bennett said in his statement. "All I could think of was 'I'm going to die to no other reason than I am black and my skin color is somehow a threat.' My life flashed before my eyes as I thought of my girls. Would I ever play with them again? Or watch them have kids? Or be able to kiss my wife again and tell her I love her?"
The officers eventually allowed Bennett to leave after placing him in a car "for what felt like an eternity until they apparently realized I was not a thug, common criminal or ordinary black man but Michael Bennett a famous professional football player."
Bennett said he has retained a civil rights attorney in the case and is exploring a potential lawsuit against the officers.