Michael Bennett Arrest: Alleged Police Violence Against Seattle Seahawks Star Gives More Validity To Protest
Michael Bennett was arrested and has alleged that the Las Vegas Police Department used “excessive force” when taking him to the ground. Bennett states that he was violently detained only because of his skin color, and this breaking news story now has a video from TMZ to go along with it.
A report by TMZ gives partial footage of the Michael Bennett arrest, with very little information about why at least two Las Vegas police officers decided to detain the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive star. That lack of information is due to the LVPD, which has not revealed any details about why the police stopped him, why they detained Bennett, or why they felt that they needed guns to do it. No response has been given to TMZ or Bennett (still).
After the arrest, Michael Bennett released a detailed statement about the ordeal, giving his side of the story.
“On Saturday, August 26, 2017 I was in Las Vegas to attend the Mayweather-McGregor fight on my day off. After the fight while heading back to my hotel several hundred people heard what sounded like gun shots. Like many of the people in the area I ran away from the sound, looking for safety. Las Vegas police officers singled me out and pointed their guns at me for doing nothing more than simply being a black man in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
— Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) September 5, 2017
In his statement, Bennett goes on to reveal that he lay on the ground to comply with commands to not move and then states that a gun was placed near his head that came with a warning to not move. Bennett then states that the police officer threatened to shoot him in the head and a second officer came over and forcefully jammed his knee into Bennett’s back. During the ordeal, the pressure made it hard for Bennett to breathe, and he also states that the handcuffs were so tight his fingers went numb.
Your support has been amazing. Total raised for Texas families currently at $120,000! Let’s keep it going. We chal… https://t.co/PUJ29WHrPm pic.twitter.com/r5kX8rQfZj
— Bennett Foundation (@TMBFoundation) September 2, 2017
The full statement that Michael Bennett released after his arrest was posted on Twitter so that everyone can read it. It goes into more detail about the situation and how he feels that he was wrongly targeted and that excessive force was used on him without provocation. Friend Colin Kaepernick has also weighed in on social media, calling this violation against his “brother” simply “disgusting and unjust.”
The Seattle Seahawks open the regular season with a game against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, September 10, and Michael Bennett is expected to play in the game. This is considered a developing story as more details will come out about what took place in Las Vegas. Many Seahawks fans are just now hearing about the Michael Bennett arrest and learning details about the ordeal that he had to go through.
[Featured Image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
