Los Angeles police say New Orleans Pelicans player Jaxson Hayes was involved in a physical altercation and “pushed” an officer just before he was tased and taken into custody Wednesday (July 28) morning during a domestic violence call.
The 21-year-old NBA star was arrested just after 2:50 a.m., when officers responded to a radio call in the 22000 block of Mariano Street in the Woodland Hills section of the city, the LAPD said Thursday in a news release.
Per police, Hayes was in the front yard of a home when officers arrived. “Officers informed Hayes they received a call at the location and needed to speak with the victim, but requested Hayes remain outside while they did so,” the release says.
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Responding officers reportedly recorded the encounter with their body cameras. According to the LAPD, the footage shows Hayes “repeatedly attempting to enter the residence, despite officers blocking his path and verbal commands for him to remain outside.”
Officers then requested back-up and “attempted to place Hayes’ hands behind his back.” However, police allege he broke free and “pushed one of the officers into a wall.”
Hayes was then tackled to the ground “to overcome his resistance,” according to the police account.
“Once on the ground, Hayes attempted to get up and continued resisting officers. Officers utilized two deployments of the taser, as well as bodyweight and physical force during the altercation, which lasted for approximately two and a half minutes,” the release states.
Hayes and one officer were treated at a local hospital and released. The woman at the location declined to cooperate with officers, according to the LAPD.
After being medically cleared, Hayes was taken to the Van Nuys Jail and booked for resisting arrest. Per online inmate records, he was booked at 3:05 p.m. Wednesday and released at 5:29 p.m. after posting $25,000.
As with other use of force cases, the LAPD’s Force Investigation Division (FID) has taken over the case to “assess the incident due to the possibility of force being applied to Hayes’ neck during the use of force,” police said.
Hayes has not commented publicly about the incident, but his Instagram page has pictures of him and his girlfriend visiting sites around the Los Angeles area in recent weeks.
Meantime, the Pelicans said Wednesday the organization is looking into incident.
“We are working in conjunction with the NBA and Jaxson’s representatives to gather more information and will have no further comment at this time,” the team said in a statement to ESPN.
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