NYPD Breaks NBA Player Thabo Sefolosha’s Leg

There are two sides to every story and every crime including this one. A few nights ago former NBA Second All-Defensive Team player Thabo Sefolosha had a run in with police after Pacers forward Chris Copeland and his girlfriend were stabbed outside of a Chelsea nightclub.

Image by Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons.
Image by Erik Drost via Wikimedia Commons.

So, where does Sefolosha come into play? According to police, Sefolosha “obstructed justice” and “resisted arrest.” Sefolosha’s resisting arrest led to a four-officer scuffle to get him “under control.” Sefolosha ended up sustaining a broken leg and TMZ?had the footage which can be seen at the end of this article.

Not to analyze the situation too much, but it’s surprising to me that the ratio was four?officers to one Sefolosha. After sustaining the injury and being arrested, he was declared out for the season. Here’s a piece from the police report courtesy of Yahoo:

“According to the police report, officers asked Antic and Sefolosha to clear the area to establish a crime scene six times before they were arrested. The report states the two moved a couple feet away but did not clear the area. The report also states that Sefolosha then charged officers in an ?aggressive manner.?

?…When I approached the defendant to place him under arrest for the above described conduct, I observed the defendant flail his arms, twist his body, kick his legs, and struggle against me making it difficult for me to place handcuffs on him and complete the arrest. It took four officers to place the defendant in handcuffs.?

But what makes this situation even more interesting is that only this past winter NBA Players spoke out against police brutality with the case of Eric Garner and Michael Brown. It makes you wonder why this situation came to a reported broken ankle and damaged fibula.

Furthermore, cases like these have become all to common especially most recently with the death of Walter Scott. We have to ask ourselves why those that are supposed to uphold the law get off so easily with very minor blemishes.

What needs to change to start generating actual awareness for these situations? What needs to change in the training process of officers so this doesn’t continue? What paradigm needs to be shifted so that a target isn’t on your back? Who will take that first step?

Note: I am not putting all the blame on the officers nor am I putting it all on Sefolosha. However, something needs to change so we can eliminate that feeling of worry regardless.

To see the video footage of the takedown, check out the video below!


 

Tanner Bisbee hails from the great State of Maine. He's a full time college student and serves on the football staff at school. His most notable work to date is his book Modern Day Sports Blog. To read more check out my blog http://moderndaysportsandpolitics.blogspot.com/