Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will not face criminal charges following reports that he pummeled a fellow airline passenger, CNN has reported.
Tyson was reportedly captured on camera hitting plane passenger Melvin George Townsend III after Townsend was accused of harassing Tyson before takeoff.
What are the details?
San Mateo County, California, District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe told the outlet that he did not file any misdemeanor battery charges against Tyson “based on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation” including the “conduct of the alleged victim.”
“It is simply a case that does not belong in the criminal court,” Wagstaffe told the outlet. “If they want to sue each other, that’s their business.”
He added that both parties requested no charges be filed in the case.
Video showed a man identified as Tyson bending over and repeatedly striking a man identified as Townsend while the plane sat on the tarmac at San Francisco International Airport awaiting takeoff.
At the time, a spokesperson for Tyson said that Townsend was an “aggressive passenger who began harassing [Tyson] and threw a water bottle at him” shortly after boarding.
Townsend, who was previously described as an overexcited fan, denied throwing a water bottle at Tyson.
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Police Department confirmed the incident in a statement.
“On Wednesday April 20, 2022, at approximately 10:06 p.m., San Francisco Police officers assigned to the SFPD Airport Bureau were dispatched to a physical altercation onboard an airplane located at the Domestic Terminal of the San Francisco International Airport,” a statement from the department read. “Officers arrived and detained two subjects that were believed to be involved in the incident. 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. Both subjects were released under 849(b) of the California Penal Code pending further investigation.”
Mike Tyson Repeatedly Punches Man In Face On Plane, Bloodies Passenger | TMZ Sports
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