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Seattle Seahawks player Michael Bennett is accusing police officers of using excessive force and pointing a gun at him during an incident in Las Vegas last month.
Bennett posted a statement to Twitter Wednesday. He said officers pinned him to the ground, pointed a gun near his head, and warned they would “blow [his] fucking head off” if he moved.
“The Officers’ excessive use of force was unbearable,” Bennett wrote. “I felt helpless as I lay there on the ground handcuffed facing the real-life threat of being killed.”
Equality. pic.twitter.com/NQ4pJt94AZ
— Michael Bennett (@mosesbread72) September 6, 2017
TMZ Sports posted a video of the arrest. As he’s on the ground being handcuffed by the officer, Bennett can be heard saying, “I wasn’t doing nothing, man.”
Bennett, who was in Las Vegas for the Mayweather-McGregor fight, said a crowd of “several hundred” people began to run after hearing gunshots on the street. Bennett said police officers “singled [him] out.”
Bennett wrote that after sitting in the back of a police car, officers realized who he was and released him “without any legitimate justification for the Officers’ abusive conduct.”
“I sat for what felt like an eternity until they apparently realized I was not a thug, common criminal or ordinary black man but Michael Bennett a famous professional football player,” he wrote.
His brother Martellus posted to Instagram about receiving a call from Bennett after the incident.
“I could hear the fear in your voice, the tears in your eyes as well your sprinting heart beat,” Martellus Bennett wrote.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BYtHHk6AyZ8/
Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has taken a bold stance against racism and politice brutality, called the incident against Michael Bennett “disgusting and unjust” in a Twitter post.
This violation that happened against my Brother Michael Bennett is disgusting and unjust. I stand with Michael and I stand with the people. pic.twitter.com/TqXFiso6lk
— Colin Kaepernick (@Kaepernick7) September 6, 2017
In his statement, Bennett said he has retained civil rights attorney John Burris to explore legal options against the Las Vegas Police Department.