Thabo Sefolosha confirmed Sunday that he will file his civil lawsuit against the New York Police Department this week.
The Hawks forward announced his intention to file the suit in October following his arrest and subsequent acquittal in a criminal trial earlier in 2015.
“We are pursing with that,” Sefolosha said of the civil suit.
It was reported Saturday that former teammate Pero Antic, who was arrested with Sefolosha outside a New York City night club in April, filed a civil suit of his own against the NYPD. ESPN reported that Antic filed his suit on Friday. Sefolosha said he believed that Antic did indeed file. Antic did not immediately respond to a message.
Sefolosha suffered a broken right leg and ligament damage to his ankle during his arrest in the early morning hours of April 7 outside the night club 1Oak. He missed the rest of the regular season and playoffs following season-ending surgery. Sefolosha faced three misdemeanor counts, alleging that he disobeyed orders to move away from a crime scene and then resisted arrest. After declining a plea bargain, Sefolosha was acquitted of all the charges in a weeklong trial in October.
Sefolosha filed a notice of claim with the New York City comptroller of his intention to file a $50 million civil suit. In a television interview in October stating his intention to bring action, Sefolosha said “There is a lot of unknown about how this will affect me two years from now, five years from now, 10 years from now. Also because I think it’s the right approach to put lights on a situation like this and be able to fight back in a legal way and in a way that can empower, hopefully.”
Sefolosha has appeared in 70 games this season and averaged 6.6 points and 4.0 rebounds in 23 minutes.
Three misdemeanor charges against Antic were dropped. The center from Macedonia left the Hawks this summer as a free agent to sign with Fenerbahce in Turkey. He missed time this season with a torn calf. According to ESPN, Antic filed his notice of claim for $25 million last year.
Sefolosha and Antic are represented by Alex Spiro.
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