Thabo Sefolosha still has not decided whether he will file a civil lawsuit against the city of New York and eight police officers, the Hawks forward told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Wednesday.
A report in the New York Post stated that Sefolosha filed a notice of claim with the city comptroller of his intention to file a $50 million civil suit. Sefolosha said that paperwork was filed several months ago as a matter of procedure to preserve his right to bring action in the future.
“I didn’t decide anything,” Sefolosha said before the Hawks played the Grizzlies in an exhibition game. “This was something that was necessary to preserve the right. We filed it four to five months ago. It’s nothing new. My legal team advised me at the time to file those papers because there was only certain time to do so.
“I still haven’t made a decision.”
Sefolosha suffered a broken right leg and ligament damage during his arrest in the early morning hours of April 7 outside the Manhattan 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 earlier this month.
According to the notice of claim, Sefolosha suffered physical damages that are “permanent in nature and continuing into the future.”
Sefolosha was cleared for all basketball activities by the start of training camp last month. He has played in three of the Hawks’ exhibition games, missing the first two because of the trial. Sefolosha said his rehabilitation is an ongoing process and he is still not 100 percent recovered.
Sefolosha said soon after the acquittal verdict that he had not made up his mind on whether he would file a civil suit. He said he has had enough of being in a courtroom and needed time to think about the next step for him and his family. He also said he is not sure how much of an activist he will be concerning police brutality cases.
“I haven’t made any decision but I think it’s an important cause,” Sefolosha told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution following the case. “If my story can put some light on something bigger it’s great and I hope it brings some change.”
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