Delonte West Started Street Fight with Glass Bottle Attack, Witness Tells Cops
Delonte West Started Fight with Glass Bottle Attack ... Witness Tells Cops
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3:59 PM PT -- The officer suspected of leaking the video has been suspended, according to Prince George's County PD Chief Hank Stawinski.
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The Chief told the media that the officer "will be dealt with harshly" if that person is found to have posted the footage on social media.
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11:11 AM PT -- The Prince George's County Police Dept. is releasing new information about the Delonte West street fight ... saying a witness told police Delonte initiated the Jan. 20 fight by hitting the other man with a glass bottle.
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"[The witness] told officers that she observed the handcuffed male [West] first hit the other with a glass bottle and that man responded by striking the one who had thrown the bottle several times," cops say.
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Cops say the incident took place around 9:45 AM -- and note that both West and the other man knew each other and had been involved in a dispute earlier that morning.
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One of the men was bleeding from the face when cops arrived. However, both men refused medical assistance and refused to press charges against the other, cops say.
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As for the release of the video, cops say they have launched an internal investigation to find out how some of the footage (shot by an officer) was leaked to social media.
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6:10 AM PT -- TMZ Sports has spoken with Delonte's former agent, Aaron Goodwin, who confirms the person in the video is in fact Delonte West.
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Goodwin tells us West is currently recovering from the attack with family members but desperately needs medical attention.
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Goodwin says West HAS a support system around him but his close friends and family members need more help to keep Delonte safe and out of trouble.
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We're told the NBA has and is offering to support West and his family. But, the reality is, they can only do so much.
Delonte West looks to be in need of serious help.
Check out these disturbing videos appearing to show the former NBA player getting beaten up in the streets of D.C.
Slim doing bad NBA need to offer him some help pic.twitter.com/b7MtTj9JAt
— Maybe: Damani (@damani_givens) January 21, 2020 @damani_givens
It's super sad ... Delonte is apparently saying someone came at him with a gun while he was walking down the road. He then starts ranting and keeps saying "I don't give a f***" when pressed for more details about what went down.
Apparently Delonte West was seen getting beat up in the street this Morning. I went to school with him and it’s crazy to see just how his life has gone downhill since the NBA. pic.twitter.com/chm6Sbu9h6
— Measha⚡️ (@N90sKindOfWorld) January 20, 2020 @N90sKindOfWorld
In another video circulating social media, someone who appears to be West is getting kicked and punched in the middle of a busy road. The man on the ground, presumably Delonte, is laying motionless as someone else roughs him up.
Unfortunately, we've seen similar sad episodes before involving Delonte. He's been seen begging for change in Maryland and looking disheveled in Texas.
As we've reported ... Delonte spent time in a medical facility back in 2016, and he's tried to mount a comeback to the NBA.
It's pretty heartbreaking to see Delonte now ... and folks are calling on the NBA to give one of their former stars some help.
Originally published -- 6:20 PM PT
