Atlanta Hawks’ Thabo Sefolosha gets $4M in police brutality lawsuit
Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha has just received $4 million in a payout for a lawsuit over police brutality.
Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha has just received $4 million in a payout for a lawsuit over police brutality.
On April 8, 2015, Sefolosha was at the 1OAK nightclub, where Knick Chris Copeland was knifed after Sefolosha left. According to the suit, Sefolosha was on his way out of the club with Pero Antic when NYPD Officer Jean Paul Giacona “abused his authority.”
“After being provoked by Giacona,” Sefolosha “referred to Giacona as a midget.”
Sefolosha was then arrested and, in the process, his leg was broken, an injury that the suit notes could have been career-ending for him.
In October 2015, Sefolosha was found not guilty of charges related to the incident, including resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of governmental administration. Then, on Wednesday, officials announced that the police brutality suit had been settled.
“This settlement is not a concession that Mr. Sefolosha was blameless in this matter and there was no admission of liability by the defendants,” the city Law Department said in a statement, “but in light of the gravity of his injuries, the potential impact on his career as a professional athlete and the challenge for a jury in sorting out the facts in this incident, the resolution of the case was in the best interests of the City.”
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