Seahawks’ Bennett alleges racial profiling by Vegas police

RENTON, Washington — Seattle Seahawks defensive lineman Michael Bennett said he was a victim of excessive force and racial profiling by Las Vegas police during an incident Aug. 27, adding that he was held on the ground with a gun to his head.

“It was a traumatic experience for me and my family,” Bennett said Wednesday before practice at the Seahawks’ facility. “It sucks that the country we are living in now sometimes you get profiled for the color of your skin.”

Bennett was in Las Vegas to attend the Floyd MayweatherConor McGregor fight on Aug. 26.

Bennett released a statement on the incident via Twitter, alleging excessive force. Bennett has retained Oakland civil-rights attorney John Burris and is considering legal options, including filing a federal civil-rights lawsuit.

During a news conference Wednesday, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department undersheriff Kevin McMahill said race was not a factor in the incident.

McMahill said the incident began when officers responded to reports of a possible active shooter at the Cromwell Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard about 1:30 a.m. Aug. 27.

In the statement he released Wednesday, Bennett wrote that after watching the fight he was walking back to his hotel when he heard what sounded like gun shots and ran away from the sound. Bennett wrote he was then singled out for “simply being a black man” and ordered to the ground. He wrote that one officer held a gun to his head and told him he would “blow my [expletive] head off.” Another officer, Bennett wrote, jammed his knee into Bennett’s back so hard “it was difficult for me to breathe.”

McMahill said Bennett was spotted “crouched down behind a gaming machine as the officers approached. Once Bennett was in the officers’ view he quickly ran out of the south doors, jumped over a wall onto Flamingo Road East of Las Vegas Boulevard into traffic. Due to Bennett’s actions and the information officers had at the time they believed Bennett may have been involved in the shooting, and they gave chase.”

McMahill said two officers with guns apprehended Bennett, placed him in handcuffs and detained him for 10 minutes while officers determined if he was involved in the incident. After it was determined Bennett was not involved, he was released, McMahill said. McMahill added that Bennett had the incident explained to him by a supervisor and that “he understood and said he had no problem with what the officers did, just the one that he claimed had pointed a gun at his head.”