After Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett posted Wednesday about a Las Vegas police officer who allegedly profiled him and threatened to “blow my f–king head off” during a frantic scene after the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight, police said Bennett’s “actions” caused officers to believe he might have been involved in the shooting — while the arresting officer’s body camera wasn’t on.
Bennett, who recalled the scene in a Twitter post, accused Las Vegas police of singling him out and pointing their guns at him for “nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time.” He plans on filing a civil rights lawsuit.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Undersheriff Kevin McMahill said in a news conference Wednesday that an internal affairs investigation was under way; however, the arresting officer failed to have his body camera on during the incident.
Police were responding to a tip that an active shooter was at The Cromwell Hotel and Casino, but officers later determined that no shooting had occurred. McMahill said officers believed Bennett might have been involved after they say he ran during their search.
“As they moved toward the nightclub, an individual later identified as Bennett was seen crouched down behind a gaming machine as the officers approached,” McMahill said. “Once Bennett was in the officers’ view, he quickly ran out of the south doors, jumped over a wall onto Flamingo Road east of Las Vegas Boulevard into traffic. 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 was detained for roughly 10 minutes and had “no problem with what officers did,” according to McMahill.
While Bennett claims he was a target because of his race, McMahill denied that notion. He said the police department has 126 pieces of video to review from the incident.
“I can tell you as I stand here today that I see no evidence of that. I see no evidence that race played any role in this incident,” McMahill said. “While officers were searching the casino, they were able to safely evacuate many patrons of all races.”
TMZ released some footage of Bennett being handcuffed, which doesn’t show the officer pointing a gun toward Bennett. However, late Wednesday, the two-time Pro Bowler posted a picture from apparent surveillance footage at the scene that seems to show the officer holding something against Bennett that resembles a gun.
Bennett has received support from several players league-wide, including his brother, Martellus Bennett, a former Giant who plays tight end for the Packers. Shortly after Michael’s initial Twitter post, Martellus posted on Instagram about receiving a call from his brother after the incident, recalling how he could hear the “fear in [his] voice.”
After Packers practice Wednesday, a teary-eyed Martellus recalled that he had to excuse himself from a team meeting after he first saw the footage.
“I didn’t even know there was a video,” Martellus said. “I had to walk out of meetings because I broke down crying, just thinking about what could have happened, what could have been. It was just so close. You never know these days.”
The Bennett brothers’ teams play each other Sunday in their season openers in Green Bay.
“Sometimes, a hug is the best thing you can give,” Martellus said. “I mean, I don’t really know, really — you know what I’m saying? I don’t really have the answers. You just think, ‘What if?’ You know? Two seconds this way, two seconds that way, the whole thing is different. So for me, I’ll just be happy to see my brother, because there’s a chance I couldn’t see him.”
Shortly after the incident went public, Colin Kaepernick offered his support to Bennett, calling the situation “disgusting and unjust.”
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Wednesday that “what happened with Michael is a classic illustration of the reality of inequalities that are demonstrated daily,” while NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell offered his and the league’s support to Bennett.
“Michael Bennett represents the best of the NFL — a leader on his team and in his community. Our foremost concern is the welfare of Michael and his family,” Goodell said in a statement issued by the NFL. “…[T]he issues Michael has been raising deserve serious attention from all of our leaders in every community. We will support Michael and all NFL players in promoting mutual respect between law enforcement and the communities they loyally serve and fair and equal treatment under law.”