New video appears to show Alameda sheriff’s deputy started scuffle with Raptors president after NBA Finals
OAKLAND >> New video released Tuesday by a Peninsula law firm appears to show an Alameda County sheriff’s deputy initially striking Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri moments after his team defeated the Golden State Warriors to wrap up last year’s NBA championship at Oracle Arena.
The two men were involved in a scuffle shortly after the deciding Game 6 of the Finals ended, with Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri attempting to make his way onto the court to congratulate coaches and players before encountering sheriff’s deputy Alan Strickland, who was working at the arena as a security guard.
Initial accounts provided by sheriff’s officials said Ujiri struck Strickland in the face, with an amended statement by an observer days later complicating observers’ understanding of events. More than a month later, the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office received reports about the incident but officials decided last November not to file charges against Ujiri.
But in February, Strickland decided to sue Ujiri for assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and two counts of negligence, alleging that he had suffered “physical, mental, emotional and economic” injuries in the confrontation’s wake.
Tuesday’s release of security-camera footage by Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy, the Burlingame-based law firm representing Ujiri, appeared to depict the incident more clearly and drew support from the Raptors. The footage shows Strickland shoving Ujiri in the chest twice before the Raptors president shoved back.
“We are mindful this remains before the courts, but we have always maintained that the claims made against Masai are baseless and entirely without merit. We believe this video evidence shows exactly that – Masai was not an aggressor, but instead was the recipient of two very violent, unwarranted actions,” Raptors communications director Jennifer Quinn said in part in a statement Tuesday night.
On Thursday, Ujiri released a statement through his lawyer suggesting that race was a factor in the incident. Strickland’s lawyer had previously discounted any racial element because his client’s family is Black.
“The video sadly demonstrates how horribly I was treated by a law enforcement officer last year in the midst of my team, the Toronto Raptors, winning its first world championship. It was an exhilarating moment of achievement for our organization, for our players, for our city, for our country, and for me personally, given my longtenured professional journey in the NBA. Yet, unfortunately, I was reminded in that moment that despite all of my hard work and success, there are some people, including those who are supposed to protect us, who will always and only see me as something that is unworthy of respectful engagement. And, there’s only one indisputable reason why that is the case because I am Black,” Ujiri said in part.
“What saddens me most about this ordeal is that the only reason why I am getting the justice I deserve in this moment is because of my success. Because I’m the President of a NBA team, I had access to resources that ensured I could demand and fight for my justice. So many of my brothers and sisters haven’t had, don’t have, and won’t have the same access to resources that assured my justice,” Ujiri added.
“And that’s why Black Lives Matter. And that’s why it’s important for all of us to keep demanding justice. Justice for George. Justice for Breonna. Justice for Elijah. Justice for far too many Black lives that mattered. And justice for Black people around the world, who need our voice and our compassion to save their lives.”
In documents filed this week, Ujiri’s lawyers cited what they describe as recently obtained discovery. including Strickland’s own body-worn camera footage, as motive for a counterclaim to Strickland’s suit next month before U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Rogers to “vindicate his rights as a victim of unreasonable force, assault, and battery at the hands of Mr. Strickland.”
Mastagni Holstedt, A.P.C. law firm, which represents Alameda County sheriff’s deputies, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening.
In a statement Wednesday, sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly said the department had closed out its part in the case last July after an investigation that drew on resources from Oakland police and the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office. Kelly distinguished between the public case, which ended with a citation hearing last November, and the private matter of Strickland’s suit against Ujiri.
“There’s been a snippet of video released publicly that doesn’t tell the story of the entire investigation,” Kelly said. “That story will have to come out through the process. We stand by our original statements.”
Kelly confirmed that Strickland remains employed by the department and said the deputy is on leave recovering from injuries sustained during the incident.
Mastagni Holstedt founder David P. Mastagni told this news organization in June 2019 that, “This is an unprovoked significant hit to the jaw, causing a serious concussion, a temporal mandibular joint injury, a serious jaw injury. The officer is off-work, disabled and wants to get back to work.”