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Topics: Mike Tyson, Sport
Aisha Nozari
Mike Tyson won’t face charges over an incident last month that took place on board a JetBlue flight at San Francisco International Airport.
Footage emerged in April of Tyson appearing to strike a fellow passenger while waiting for the aircraft to take off.
On Tuesday (10 May) a California prosecutor confirmed he would not be charging the former world heavyweight boxing champ.
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According to ABC, San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe made the decision after reviewing the footage alongside police reports.
Wagstaffe said in a statement: “Our decision is that we will not file any charges against Mr. Tyson based on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.
“These include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in this case. We now deem this case closed."
UNILAD has approached Tyson’s representatives for comment.
The incident took place on 20 April while Tyson was seated in first-class waiting to depart for Florida.
He appeared to be leaning over his seat to strike the head of an unidentified man, in footage first obtained by TMZ.
Tyson’s blows drew blood and police confirmed they responded to a 'physical altercation' on a plane at the domestic terminal of the airport at around 10.00pm local time.
Shortly after the video emerged, Tyson’s representatives confirmed an altercation had taken place and claimed the passenger had been 'harassing' Tyson.
“Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat,” they said in an email to Associated Press.
Police also issued a statement to AP, confirming ‘two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident had been detained’.
Law enforcement continued: “One subject was treated at the scene for non-life-threatening injuries. That subject provided minimal details of the incident and refused to cooperate further with the police investigation.”
Sarah Burchfield, a passenger on the plane, told SFGATE she saw the man who allegedly 'harassed' Tyson before he boarded, noting that he appeared loud and quarrelsome.
Burchfield said: “When I boarded the flight, I thought, ‘Oh no, that drunk guy is on our flight’."
She said she later heard a commotion taking place in the first class cabin and told the outlet she figured Tyson was involved ‘because it's Mike Tyson’.
"I don’t recall it being acknowledged by the flight attendants. It happened, we all looked and gawked, then moved on," she added.
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