Detroit Police Chief Defends Allen Iverson Over Lawsuit – NBA Update
Even though Allen Iverson left the NBA in 2009, he still tends to make the headlines every now and then. This time, however, the news is rather unpleasant. According to sources, the former Philadelphia and Detroit star has been
sued $2.5 million in a civil lawsuit involving a bar fight.
The event took place in 2009 at the South Beach Pizza Bar in Detroit. A man from Ohio, going by the name of Guy Walker Jr., has laid a claim that one of Iverson’s body guards attacked him without any reason, which left him with
severe bruises and permanent eye damage.
Guy Walker Jr. claims that Iverson did not take any measures to stop the fight and instead allowed himself to be escorted out of the place, while his security guard continued beating Walker.
One of Iverson’s security personnel that night, Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee has however spoken up in defence of Iverson. Godbee submitted court documents on Monday in which he stated that Iverson is not guilty of any of the
charges that have been laid against him as he was not involved in the incident in any way.
At that time, Godbee had retired from the District Police Department and was working in his personal capacity as a consultant and also as a subcontractor for Stealth Investigations to provide security detail to Iverson.
In the documents that he submitted on Monday, Godbee made it very clear that Iverson was innocent. “Iverson was not involved in the fight, directly, or indirectly, nor was he in the position to direct anybody to do anything in
connection with the fight.” said the former police chief.
According to Godbee’s report, the fight took place on the opposite end to where he and Iverson were. As soon as the brawl started, Godbee escorted the former basketball icon safely out of the place.
The man involved in the brawl with Walker has been identified as Antwuan Clisey. Godbee asserted that Clisey was not Iverson’s bodyguard and was not performing any such duty that night. He further elaborated that Clisey was a friend
of Iverson.
Walker, on the other hand, went so far so as to say that Clisey was not only Iverson’s body guard, but also that he started the fight on Iverson’s direction. Walker has even demanded the personal records of Iverson over the last
five years. In response, Iverson’s lawyer Michael Cafferty has called it absolutely irrelevant to demand personal documents over some bar fight case.
“Given that this case involves a ‘bar fight’ in Detroit, I cannot fathom how Mr. Iverson’s personal information could be in anyway relevant to any legitimate issue in this case,” Cafferty wrote .
Cafferty argued that there is no denying that Iverson was present in the bar that night and that his friend Clisey got into a fight with Walker, however, he insisted that Iverson was not involved in the fight and that Walker was
pursuing the case only because Iverson has potentially deep pockets.
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