TMZ obtained a leaked video that showed NBA player Jaxson Hayes on the ground with three officers, one of whom appeared to be tasing the New Orleans Pelicans center on the chest.
With Hayes stunned, two cops rolled on top of the Pelicans star and handcuffed him. A police officer then approaches the person who's taking the video, ending the recording of the said incident. TMZ Sports noted that the video only showed what happened while Hayes was on the ground with the police and nothing before it.
LAPD says Hayes was the initial aggressor and not the cops
The Los Angeles Police Department has not yet shown body-camera footage of the said arrest, but it has already released a statement, alleging that Hayes was the initial aggressor and not the cops.
According to the press release, a body-worn video showed Hayes repeatedly attempting to enter the residence despite the police blocking his path and verbal commands by officers for him to remain outside the house. They also said that Hayes broke free of the officers' grasp when resisting arrest, pushing one of the police officers into a wall.
According to LAPD Chief Michel Moore, police went to a residence in the 22800 block of Mariano Street in Woodland Hills after a victim alerted them to a suspected domestic violence incident. The officers were trying to interview and get a statement from the victim, but Hayes was persistent in entering the residence.
That resulted in the altercation between Hayes and the officers, which police said lasted around two and a half minutes before the NBA center could be handcuffed. Moore said that during Hayes' arrest, he was "saying that he could not breathe" and was "complaining of having trouble breathing."
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LAPD investigating whether 'categorical use of force' transpired in Hayes' arrest
Moore reviewed the video of the said incident and consulted LAPD's Force Investigation Division detectives regarding the arrest. Moore ordered detectives to investigate whether police officers used "a categorical use of force" to arrest Hayes, with the Pelicans player saying he could not breathe in the video.
The LAPD defines a categorical use of force as an incident "involving use of deadly force by officers, including officer-involved shootings, head strikes and neck restraints." Non-categorical uses of force, on the other hand, involve police using less-lethal projectiles, such as bean bag shotguns and stun guns, or physical force to subdue someone during an arrest.
Hayes' incident was initially judged as a non-categorical use of force. Hayes has stated that at one point during his altercation with the police, officers applied pressure to his neck, resulting in him having trouble breathing. Hayes was rushed to the local hospital and treated for minor injuries after the incident and was later released from police custody on a $25,000 bond.
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