In addition to announcing the suspension of the officer, Prince George's County Police offered through a statement more details about the former NBA player's case.
- Jan 22, 2020
AceShowbiz - Delonte West has become the talk of the town after video showed him getting beaten up in the middle of the streets. Another video saw the former NBA player being questioned by police, and the officer who filmed and shared the clip on social media has been suspended. Prince George's County Police confirmed this in a statement.
In the statement, a spokesperson from the office claimed that they discovered on Tuesday, January 21 one of their officers shot the viral video of Delonte sitting on a curb while being questioned by the officers. His hands were additionally cuffed behind his back. According to the statement, an investigation followed and the suspension was announced on the same day.
Besides the suspension of the officer, Prince George's County Police revealed details regarding the headline-making assault. In the statement, it's stated that police responded to a call about a fight near the MGM National Harbor casino, located just across the border from Washington D.C. When they arrived, they saw a man bleeding from the face and "made the decision to handcuff" the former Boston Celtics player.
According to the police, Delonte and the other man knew each other and that they had argued earlier this morning. Both of them refused medical treatment and opted out from pressing charges.
Meanwhile, a number of people have since come out to show their support to Delonte after the videos went viral online. Among them were his ex-teammate Jameer Nelson, who urged others to "pray for Him and his family and hope that he seeks the proper help," and NFL star Dez Bryant. The latter slammed those who mocked Delonte over the video and offered his help as saying, "I see a lot of dumb comments where folks making fun of Delonte West... this is not a joking matter … I'm going to figure out how I can help him... he need to be in rehab or something..."
