New body camera video shows the pandemonium leading up to Seattle Seahawks star Michael Bennett’s now-infamous run-in with Las Vegas Metro Police after last month’s Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight.
That video, which was referenced by undersheriff Kevin McMahill during Wednesday’s press briefing, depicts a group of officers re-entering The Cromwell Hotel and Casino, where patrons were being evacuated after an erroneous report of gunshots.
At the end of the video, Bennett can be seen laying face-down on the ground with another officer on top of him.
Officers re-enter The Cromwell Hotel and Casino, where patrons were being evacuated after an erroneous report of gunshots.
‘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,’ Bennett wrote in an open letter he posted on Twitter Wednesday morning.
Ultimately, he explained, one officer threatened to ‘blow my f****** head off.’
McMahill did not admit to any wrongdoing by the department on Wednesday, but did announce an investigation into the matter that will cover over 125 video recordings.
‘I can tell you as I stand here today, I see no evidence that race played any role in this incident,’ McMahill said.
McMahill acknowledged that Bennett was not armed and confirmed that officers did indeed draw their weapons on Bennett.
Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett can be seen being apprehended at the end of the video as an officer points what appears to be a gun at him
Police bodycams captured patrons at The Cromwell Hotel and Casino crouching down after what many believed to be gunshots were fired
‘With very little information as to who the shooter was or the shooter’s location our officers pushed past the fleeing crowds and began immediately converging on the reported threat,’ McMahill explained. ‘One of the teams that cleared the casino then exited the door to regroup and were re-directed back towards the Drai’s Nightclub inside the casino. As they moved towards the nightclub an individual later identified as Bennett was seen crouched down behind the gaming machine as the officers approached.
‘Once Bennett was in the officer’s view, he quickly ran out the south doors, jumped over a wall onto Flamingo Road East of Las Vegas Boulevard into traffic, McMahill continued. ‘Due to Bennett’s actions and the information the officers had at the time, they believed Bennett may have been involved in the shooting and they gave chase.’
Bennett has been selected to a pair of Pro Bowls and helped the Seahawks win Super Bowl XLVIII against the Denver Broncos
McMahill did go on to say that ‘[i]f the investigation reveals any policies were violated, those officers will be held accountable.’
Another video, obtained by TMZ, showed a portion of the incident referenced in Bennett’s tweet and shows the 31-year old being arrested with a knee to his back. A second officer can be seen pointing his weapon at Bennett from a few feet away.
‘I wasn’t doing nothing, man,’ Bennett can be heard yelling. ‘I was here with my friends. They told us to get out, everybody ran.’
Bennett claims he was ultimately saved by his status as a famous NFL player.
‘The [o]fficers ignored my pleas and instead told me to shut up and then took me to the back of a nearby police car where I sat for what felt like an eternity until they apparently realized I was not a thug, common criminal or ordinary black man but… a famous football player,’ Bennett’s statement read.
According to Bennett, he was returning to his hotel from T-Mobile Arena with ‘several hundred’ other people, when everyone heard what sounded like gunshots. The pack of people ran for safety, he explained, which is when a nearby police officer ordered him to get to the ground before putting a gun near his head and threatening to kill him.
Bennett is considering a civil rights lawsuit against the Las Vegas Police after allegedly being illegally detained following last month’s Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Conor McGregor fight
Another officer allegedly ‘jammed’ his knee to Bennett’s back ‘forcefully,’ limiting his ability to breath. Then, according to Bennett, the officers cinched handcuffs on him so tightly that his fingers ‘went numb.’
“It was a traumatic experience for me and my family,” Bennett said while addressing the media at the Seahawks’ facility on Wednesday afternoon. “It sucks that the country we live in now sometimes you get profiled for the color of your skin. It’s a tough situation for me. Do I think every police officer is bad? No. I don’t believe that. Do I believe that there’s some people out there that are judging people on the color of their skin? I do believe that. I’m just focused on trying to push forward and keep continuously … the quest for justice for people. Keep pushing the quality for oppressed people.”
Bennett wrote that he has retained Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris ‘to investigate and explore all my legal options including filing a civil rights lawsuit for the violation of my constitutional rights.’
In a statement given to ESPN, Burris said Bennett ‘was unarmed, sober and not involved in any altercations or dispute at the time the police officers arrested and threatened to use deadly force against him.
‘We think there was an unlawful detention and the use of excessive force, with a gun put to his head,’ Burris told The Associated Press. ‘He was just in the crowd. He doesn’t drink or do drugs. He wasn’t in a fight. He wasn’t resisting. He did nothing more or less than anyone in the crowd.’
Police form a single line, place their left hand on the right shoulder of the officer in front of them and run through the casino after an erroneous report of gunshots
Police sprint through the casino as panicked gamblers flee what they thought was the sound of gunfire
In addition to being one of the league’s most outspoken players, Bennett is also one of the NFL’s most open, frequently putting pictures of his wife and children on social media