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Seahawks' Michael Bennett Accuses Las Vegas Police Of Excessive Force

In a letter posted to social media today, Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett accuses police officers in Las Vegas of excessive force, pointing a gun at him, and unlawful detainment. Bennett was attending the Mayweather-McGregor fight and upon leaving the venue, a gunshot sent the exiting crowd running. Bennett was singled out by a police officer and ordered to the ground for what Bennett claims for nothing more than simply being black. Here is his statement as he posted it:

Michael Bennett

Since the posting of this statement, ESPN has reached out to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, but they have not replied.

In the post, Bennett mentions having retained Civil Rights attorney John Burris, who released his own statement where he made clear that Bennett "was unarmed, sober, and not involved in any altercations or dispute at the time the police officers arrested and threatened to use deadly force against him."

Michael Bennett

The 31-year-old Bennett has been supporting Colin Kaepernick during the preseason by sitting during the national anthem before games and plans to continue. Kaepernick tweeted his support of Bennett on Wednesday, stating "This violation that happened against my Brother Michael Bennett is disgusting and unjust. I stand with Michael and I stand with the people."

A recent article about Bennett, entitled Michael Bennett Is An Activist Disguised As A Football Player, was published yesterday, going in depth into the players background and actions to help address the issue of equality.

TMZ has the footage of Bennett being handcuffed. It shows one officer holding a gun on him while another is kneeling on his back and handcuffing him. Bennett, is trying to explain that he's done nothing and refers to the officer as 'Sir'.

This is likely just the beginning of what is going to be a very big case moving forward. The Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas starting next season, which will increase the NFL's presence in the city drastically.


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Dan WicklineAbout Dan Wickline

Has quietly been working at Bleeding Cool for over three years. He has written comics for Image, Top Cow, Shadowline, Avatar, IDW, Dynamite, Moonstone, Humanoids and Zenescope. He is the author of the Lucius Fogg series of novels and a published photographer.
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