Video Shows Former UT Basketball Star Hayes Altercation With Cops

LOS ANGELES, CA —Former University of Texas basketball star Jaxson Hayes was pinned the ground with the knee of a Los Angeles Police Department officer in his chest as he told officers he couldn’t breathe, according to a video released by the LAPD late last week.

Hayes was arrested on July 28 for resisting arrest, police said, after the officers arrived at his home in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. In the video, Hayes — the No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft — is shown scuffling with officers after he tried to keep them from entering his home. Officers had been called to the home for a report of a domestic incident between Hayes and his girlfriend, according to a 911 call to police which was part of the video.

The video shows officers trying to place Hayes’ hands behind his back after he attempted to stop officers from entering the home. In the video, Hayes pulls away and pushes an officer into the wall. Hayes’ cousin tries to tell him to stop arguing with police but continued to argue with officers who then took Hayes to the ground and later used a taser gun on him.

The incident took place shortly after 3 a.m. after his girlfriend’s cousin called police, LAPD said. Audio from the 911 call was included with the vide.

Hayes, who played one season for the Longhorns before turning pro and has spent the past two seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans, repeatedly says that he can’t breathe and an officer on the video can be heard telling another officer to take his knee off of Hayes.

WARNING: The video below includes images and language that could be offensive to some viewers.

Hayes sits up and says for officers for them to give them their “f------ badge numbers” before he is tased in the chest

As he is placed in handcuffs, Hayes tells his cousin to get all of the officers’ badge numbers and that “they’re all going to jail” as his girlfriend can be heard telling Hayes to stop talking.

"Jaxson Hayes is a nice young man, and he is back home in Ohio working out and getting ready for the upcoming season,'' his attorney, Mark Baute, said in a statement to the Associated Press on Friday.

The use of force investigation into the incident is just beginning, an LAPD captain said on the video and could take up to a year to complete. He said that no conclusions about whether officers acted within the bounds of department procedures are not drawn until all of the facts have been collected.

In the video, Hayes repeatedly tells officers they need a warrant to enter the home. They respond by saying they do not and that they want to speak with Hayes’ girlfriend. Hayes initially told police he and his girlfriend had had a “little argument” and that his girlfriend has thrown things at him.

The Associated Press reported that Hayes’ girlfriend was not cooperative with police in their investigation.

In the video, Hayes is told to stop resisting after officers got him to the ground.

"Stop resisting or I'm going to tase you!" the officers warns several times as Hayes struggles on the ground. The officer alternates pressing a hand and knee to Hayes' neck. Hayes' girlfriend comes out of the home and screams "Stop! Stop! What are you doing?"

The struggle finally ends and police officers were able to get Hayes in handcuffs and seated in a chair. He was hospitalized with minor injuries.