Video footage revealed that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police acted professionally when they detained Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett, who ran from a casino after police were called in to investigate a report of gunfire at a Vegas club.
Hundreds of video files -including some from police body cameras- helped investigators determine that there was no evidence of racial profiling or excessive force when police made contact with the defensive end on August 27.
“Mr. Bennett has a valid perspective as a person who experienced a reasonable-suspicion stop for a felony crime,” Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo told the media. “Those who experience such a stop, especially when they have not committed a crime, are not likely to feel good about it.”
While Bennett committed no crime, he was detained at gunpoint, cuffed and seated for about ten minutes until police could finish clearing the casino.
According to the NFL player, he was profiled and assaulted.
““Dear World,” he wrote on Twitter, “Las Vegas police officers singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
However, the video doesn’t lie- and Lombardo took to the press to set that record straight, including the part where Bennett claimed the officer threatened to “blow his head off.”
“From the evidence we have at this point, we don’t know (the officer) said that,” the sheriff said.
According to the New York Post, the only thing that went wrong was that the detaining officer did not have his body camera on- something he may face disciplinary action for.
Still, Lombardo stands by his men.
“I believe they acted appropriately and professionally,” the sheriff said. © 2017 Bright Mountain Media, Inc. All rights reserved. The content of this webpage may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written consent of Bright Mountain Media, Inc. which may be contacted at info@brightmountainmedia.com, ticker BMTM.
