Ex-NBA player Delonte West arrested

Former NBA player Delonte West was arrested Tuesday night after yelling and banging on the doors of the Boynton Beach police department lobby while holding an open can of beer and an open bottle of vodka, officials said.

West, 38, who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2008, was screaming profanities and banging on the glass doors of the police department while holding an open can of beer in one hand and an open bottle of mango vodka in his other hand.

Police said West, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, began to walk away from officers who were yelling at him to stop. One officer said he stood in West’s path and told West to put the alcohol on the sidewalk. West, who police said smelled of alcohol, complied, but police said West then placed his hands inside the waistband of his pants.

At that point an officer used a stun gun on West. The arrest report said it was “light and target lasers only.” After getting hit with the stun gun, West dropped to his knees with his hands in the air.

Officers said while he was in a police car, West continued to be belligerent, screaming profanities and going on “obscure rants.”

West, who has a Maryland address, was charged by Boynton Beach police with disorderly intoxication/public disturbance, an open container violation, and resisting arrest.

West, who played guard in the NBA, was a 2004 first-round draft pick by the Boston Celtics. He was traded to Cleveland in February 2008, where he played alongside superstar LeBron James and helped the Cavs win 66 games and advance to the Eastern Conference finals.

In 2010, West was traded to Minnesota, cut, and then signed with Boston before going to Dallas in December 2011, his last NBA team. West played in China and Venezuela for a while as well as the NBA’s developmental league.

West has had a few highly publicized incidents, including being caught in Maryland in 2009 with three loaded guns, among them a shotgun slung across his back in a guitar case, while he was driving a three-wheel vehicle.

More recently, former Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban found West at a Dallas gas station in 2020 after seeing a photo of West apparently panhandling. Cuban paid for West’s drug treatment and got him a hotel room.