Atlanta Hawks guard Thabo Sefolosha broke his silence Tuesday and blamed the New York Police Department for his season-ending injury, days after TMZ published a video appearing to show an NYPD officer striking Sefolosha with a baton. Sefolosha, who suffered the injury during his arrest shortly after the Chris Copeland stabbing Wednesday morning, indicated he was taking legal action against the police department.
Sefolosha's arrest early Wednesday morning resulted in a broken right fibula and ligament damage. According to the police report obtained by ESPN, NYPD officers arrested Sefolosha for interfering with the establishment of a crime scene shortly after officers responded to the stabbing of Copeland in front of New York City's 1OAK Club.
Video released by TMZ, though, appear to contradict the police report. The video shows Sefolosha being put in a headlock and wrestled to the ground by one NYPD officer, and it also appears to show another officer raising his baton and striking Sefolosha. All of this appears to happen some distance - more than 100 feet, according to ESPN - away from the site of Copeland's stabbing.
Sefolosha, who will undergo season-ending surgery on his fibula later this week, broke his silence about the incident Tuesday and accused the NYPD of causing his injury.
"On advice of counsel, I hope you can appreciate that I cannot discuss the facts of the case," Sefolosha said, according to ESPN. "Those questions will be answered by my attorney in a court of law. I will simply say that I am in great pain, have experienced a significant injury and that the injury was caused by the police. ...
"This has been a difficult time for me and I truly appreciate the support I have received from everyone. I am extremely disappointed that I will not be able to join my teammates on the court during the playoffs and apologize to them for any distraction this incident has caused. I will be cheering for them every step of the way and will be diligent in my rehabilitation."
The NYPD's Internal Affairs bureau is investigating Sefolosha's complaint and would not offer any comment. The NBA is also looking into the incident.
