Las Vegas Cops Held NFL Player Michael Bennett At Gunpoint

SEATTLE, WA — Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett says he was held at gunpoint and treated abusively by several Las Vegas police officers on Aug. 26 after a report of gunfire. Bennett wrote in a Twitter post Wednesday he was among a crowd of hundreds when the sound of gunshots rang out. Bennett ran to seek safety, but police stopped him at gunpoint for "simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said.

The police then ordered Bennett to get down on the ground. One officer, Bennett says, put his gun next to Bennett's head and said he would "blow [Bennett's] f---ing head off." Another officer "jammed his knee" into Bennett's back and then handcuffed him.

"I felt helpless as I lay there on the ground handcuffed facing the real-life threat of being killed," Bennett wrote. "All I could think of was 'I'm going to die for no other reason than I am black and my skin color is somehow a threat.' My life flashed before my eyes as I thought of my girls. Would I ever play with them again? Or watch them have kids? Or be able to kiss my wife again and tell her I love her?"

The website TMZ posted a video of the incident, which appears to show Las Vegas Metropolitan Police handcuffing Bennett. Patch has contacted the department for comment.

The incident happened after the Mayweather-McGregor fight. According to CBS News, Las Vegas police reported there was no shooting, but a fight had broken out.

The police put Bennett in the back of a patrol car while they checked his identity, Bennett said. He was then released.

At a Wednesday afternoon news conference, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Undersheriff Kevin McMahill offered a different version of events.

He said that officers had responded to a call of an active shooter and when they got there Bennett, who had been crouched behind a gaming machine, took off running. McMahill said an officer chased Bennett over a wall and took him into custody.

The undersheriff added that while they have 126 videos of the incident to review - they do not have one from that officer because he failed to activate his body camera.

He also denied race played a factor in Bennett's having been detained.

"I see no evidence that race played any role in this incident," he said.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell expressed support for Bennett.

"Michael Bennett represents the best of the NFL - a leader on his team and community," he said.

"The call that night was a scary one," he said. "I could hear the fear in his voice."

During the Seahawks preseason, Bennett has sat during the National Anthem before games. He said his experience in Las Vegas underscored for him that his protest is the right thing to do. Bennett has hired an Oakland attorney, John Burris, to investigate whether his civil rights were violated.

"[E]quality doesn't live in this country and no matter how much money you make, what job title you have, or how much you give, when you are seen as a 'N----r,' you will be treated that way," he wrote.

Colin Miner contributed reporting to this piece.

Image courtesy Hay Market Books