Former NFL linebacker Khaseem Greene’s career has claimed in a lawsuit his career was cut short after authorities fabricated evidence linking him to a gun used in a shooting.
The Elizabeth police department and Union County prosecutor’s office ‘willfully ignored and were deliberately indifferent to overwhelming evidence’ that he hadn’t provided the weapon used in a shooting outside a nightclub.
Greene, 29, was charged with unlawful weapon possession in a December 3, 2016, shooting in Elizabeth, where he is from.
Green, then playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, sits on the sidelines after an interception during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the Miami Dolphins
Greene was charged with unlawful weapon possession in a December 3, 2016, shooting in Elizabeth, New Jersey
Greene was originally charged in the case on January 4 and then signed with the Chiefs on January 21.
When the charges were made public in May, the Kansas City Chiefs put Greene on waivers, which released him from the team and made him available to any organization.
But two months later, a gun charge against Greene was dropped after an audio recording surfaced of the accused shooter telling detectives he lied about Greene’s involvement in the shooting.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday accuses the police and prosecutor’s office of ‘simultaneously manufacturing and fabricating false evidence in order to charge Plaintiff with a crime he did not commit’.
Green claims that the police used evidence from a career criminal who admitted lying about receiving a weapon from him, as well as video footage that in reality didn’t exist, to bring charges against him
The lawsuit charges numerous counts including civil rights violations, false arrest and imprisonment, malicious prosecution, negligence and defamation.
It seeks unspecified punitive and compensatory damages, including for past and future economic loss.
It also seeks the appointment of an independent monitor to oversee the Elizabeth police department.
According to the lawsuit, the man charged with the shooting, a career criminal with more than 20 prior arrests and six felony convictions, admitted he lied about getting the gun from Greene during an interview with police after his arrest in late December 2016.
The linebacker last played a game in 2014 for the Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. He’s pictured during a pre-season Lions game in 2016
Nevertheless, authorities went ahead and charged Greene, citing surveillance video that allegedly showed Greene handing the gun to the man. No such video existed, the lawsuit alleges.
Greene last August said the legal trouble has been ‘probably the toughest time of my life’ and has been ‘very hard emotionally and mentally.’
‘People started looking at me differently and accusing me of being this thug, this monster, and all of it was false.’
The suit names the Elizabeth Police Department and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office as well as individuals in both offices.
A spokesman for the county prosecutor’s office declined comment while a message left at the Elizabeth police department wasn’t immediately returned.
The linebacker last played a game in 2014 for the Chicago Bears, who drafted him in the fourth round of the 2013 draft. He signed a four-year, $2.59 million contract as a rookie with the team in 2013.
Greene signed a four-year, $2.59 million contract as a rookie with the Bears in 2013. He changed his number from 59 to 52 to pay tribute to his friend and former Rutgers teammate Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed while playing for Rutgers in 2010
He appeared in 25 games with six starts over two seasons for Chicago. He had 60 1/2 tackles, one interception and one forced fumble to go with seven special-teams stops.
Greene signed with the Chiefs for a one-year NFL minimum of $615,000.
Greene wore No 52 for the Bears to pay tribute to his friend and former Rutgers teammate Eric LeGrand, who was paralyzed while playing for Rutgers in 2010.
Greene was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year in 2011 and 2012, during which he was also a captain of the team.
Greene’s half brother, Ray Graham, is also a former star college football player.
He was a halfback at Pitt and went on to play one game for the Houston Texans in 2013 before going undrafted.
Their shared father, Raymond, has reportedly been in and out of jail for the last 26 years. He’s faced charges including drug and weapons possession as well as aggravated assault.