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Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha leaves the courthouse after attending his trial in New York on October 7, 2015. Sefolosha was charged with resisting arrest and other crimes during a confrontation with police officers outside a trendy Manhattan nightclub in April.
JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images
Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha has filed a $50 million suit claiming charges of false arrest, excessive force, malicious prosecution and false imprisonment against five New York City police officers during a 2015 incident in which he suffered a broken leg.
According to ESPN, Sefolosha and Hawks teammate Pero Antic were leaving a Manhattan nightclub April 8, 2015 when they were arrested after police claimed they interfered in a crime scene in which Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland, who was not with Sefolosha or Antic, was stabbed.
Sefolosha and Antic have maintained that they were outside the club looking on like several bystanders were doing when officers began harassing them. In the arrest, Sefolosha suffered a broken fibula and torn ankle ligaments, Yahoo reports. He would miss the remainder of the regular season and the Hawks’ playoff run to the conference finals.
Police dropped charges against Antic who also filed a $25 million suit against police officers and the city. Sefolosha chose to go court to clear his name and was acquitted by a jury in October of misdemeanor obstructing government administration, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, ESPN reports.
Sefolosha decided to proceed with the suit claiming that his reputation and “image have been damaged by the incident, and that his value as a professional basketball player has been adversely affected,” ESPN reports.
Read more at ESPN and Yahoo.
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