Scottie Pippen Won’t Face Charges For Malibu Restaurant Fight

Scottie Pippen will not charged with assault and battery after he allegedly roughed up a fan at a Malibu sushi restaurant in June.

The fight took place outside Nobu Malibu on June 23. Camran Shafighi went out into the parking lot to ask the 47-year-old former Bulls player for an autograph for his girlfriend’s 12-year-old son. The 49-year-old said that Pippen punched, kicked, and spit at him.

Shafighi filed a lawsuit shortly after the fight, which said that he was unable to “physically provoke or fight back, as he was knocked unconscious with the first blow.” Shafighi’s attorney, Lee Boyd, said that his client suffered headaches and breathing problems as a result. Shafighi sued Pippen for $4 million, which would make up for the economic losses Shafighi suffered from not being able to run his business.

Pippen voluntarily reported to the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Department for questioning after the incident. No charges were filed at the time.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said Tuesday there was “insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Susp is guilty of committing a crime against Victim.”

The report also said that Pippen admitted to spitting at and pushing Shafighi away, but that “the pushing is justifiable & the spitting is unprosecutable if in fact V was the aggressor & initiated the spitting as Susp & his relatives claim.”

Witnesses said that Shafighi was taking pictures of Pippen inside the restaurant, and that he followed him out to the parking lot. They also said he appeared to be drunk. Shafighi’s blood alcohol content was.18, more than double the legal limit.

The District Attorney’s office said that Shafighi’s drunk condition, paired with a lack of physical injuries, played a role in the lack of sufficient evidence. According to TMZ, officials also determined that Shafighi had faked his injuries and seizures to make Scottie Pippen look guilty.

[Photo credit: Jeff Kern / Flickr]