Those who know him well say Atlanta Hawks guard Thabo Sefolosha is the last guy you’d expect to see in handcuffs.
Respected as a mentor by younger teammates and known around the league for his lack of ego, the low-key Sefolosha was supposed to be supplying defensive muscle for a Hawks team that entered the NBA playoffs with the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Instead, the Swiss native finds himself nursing a broken leg and at the center of the ongoing debate over alleged police brutality.
From around the country, the incidents of unarmed black males dying at the hands of law enforcement officers keep coming: An unarmed teenager shot to death in Ferguson, Mo.; A 12 year old killed in Cleveland, Ohio; a 50 year old shot in the back in North Charleston, S.C.; a 25 year old who died of a severe spinal cord injury while in police custody in Baltimore.
Locally, two unarmed men, one an Afghanistan war veteran, died last month following confrontations with police in Smyrna and DeKalb County.
Sefolosha, affluent and worldly, would seem to have little in common with the others involved in those recent, highly publicized encounters with police, save for one thing.
“From what we can tell there’s no other reason that he was singled out but race,” said Atlanta activist Aurielle Marie, co-founder of #BiggerThanUs. “I think the reason this case hasn’t received more attention is because there’s no other component to talk about and that makes a lot of people uncomfortable.”
Sefolosha and teammate Pero Antic, who is white, arrived in New York City in the early morning hours of April 8 after a home game against Phoenix. They ended up at Manhattan’s trendy 1 OAK nightclub, where, coincidentally, Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland was celebrating his birthday. The party turned sour when Copeland and two others were stabbed outside the club.
New York police allege Sefolosha and Antic ignored multiple orders to disperse from the crime scene. Sefolosha allegedly ran “in an aggressive manner” toward an officer, the police report states.
“When I approached the defendant to place him under arrest for the above described conduct, I observed (Sefolosha) flail his arms, twist his body, kick his legs, and struggle against me making it difficult for me to place handcuffs on him and complete the arrest,” the report states. “It took four officers to place the defendant in handcuffs.”
Sefolosha’s alleged aggression is not evident in witness videos posted by the website TMZ. The videos did show several officers wrestling the 6-foot-7 Sefolosha to the ground, with one appearing to strike him with a billy club.
Antic, who police accused of trying to prevent officers from arresting his teammate, was handcuffed without incident.
“I will simply say that I am in great pain, that I have suffered significant injury and those were caused by the police, ” Sefolosha said in a statement one week after the incident. He declined to offer details but said, “I think the video speaks for itself.”
Atlanta civil rights attorney Mawuli Davis said he was struck by the difference in how Sefolosha and Antic were taken into custody.
“White suspects are given a benefit of the doubt that black suspects just don’t receive,” said Davis, who represents the family of a Nicholas Thomas, fatally shot by Smyrna police last month after attempting to flee arrest on an outstanding warrant. “Nick Thomas isn’t the only kid who tried to run from police. I assure you white kids have done the same, but they don’t end up getting shot.”
Gary Robinette, a retired FBI agent who testifies as an expert for plaintiffs in police brutality cases, said it’s overly simplistic to suggest racism is at the root of every encounter between white officers and black citizens.
“Police officers are not obligated to fight fair,” he said. “They have the right not to subject themselves to bodily harm.”
The NYPD — already under fire following the death last July of Eric Garner, a Staten Island man who died after he was placed in a choke-hold by officers — has declined to discuss the Sefolosha’s arrest. The department’s Internal Affairs Division is investigating, along with the Civilian Complaint Review Board.
Alex Spiro, the lawyer for Sefolosha and Antic, said he has spoken with investigators on his clients’ behalf. He declined further comment.
The NBA and the league’s players association is also reviewing the incident, though it’s clear the union believe Sefolosha was a victim, not a perpetrator.
NBAPA executive director Michele Roberts recently told told league’s official website “there’s no video at all that anybody has seen that would justify the way the police treated him.”
More players are also starting to speak out, though Sefolosha’s teammates have been instructed not to discuss the specifics of the case with the media.
“I think a lot of people fear black males, so it’s scary,” said Reggie Jackson, who played alongside Sefolosha for three years with the Oklahoma City Thunder, in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. “I’m not gonna lie, it’s kinda unfair at times as a black male. Only thing that I feel protects us is probably the celebrity status and being an NBA player, but nobody’s off limits when you see what happens to a former teammate like Thabo.”
Those who believe police are held to a different standard wonder, however, if public pressure and videotape of the incident will be enough.
“People are starting to become numb,” Atlanta social justice activist Marcus Coleman said. “They want to see some accountability for once.”
About the Author
