Body Cam Footage Shows Sheriff’s Deputy Shoving Masai Ujiri at Game 6
Written by SOURCE on August 19, 2020
Body cam footage of the Oracle Arena incident between Toronto Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri and Alameda County sheriff’s deputy Alan Strickland at Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals has been released, KTVU FOX 2 reports.
After the game ended, with the Raptors winning the NBA championship against the Golden State Warriors, Ujiri began to make his way to the court to celebrate with his team. It was then that, as can be seen in the video footage below, Ujiri was physically blocked by Strickland and shoved twice.
Attorneys representing Ujiri said that the clip illustrates that Strickland was “undeniably the initial aggressor.”
Masai Ujiri’s legal team has released body camera footage of his encounter with a security worker at Oracle Arena after the Raptors won the NBA championship. pic.twitter.com/56XWMpZy0P
— Diamond Leung (@diamond83) August 19, 2020
A spokesperson for the Raptors organization released a statement following the release of the footage and wrote that the allegations against Ujiri were “baseless and entirely without merit.” The spokesperson continued, “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 spokesperson on release of video footage involving team president Masai Ujiri and a Bay Area police officer in moments after end of 2019 NBA Finals: pic.twitter.com/sPq6y1tbw5
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 19, 2020
Following the incident, which took place on June 13, 2019, Strickland filed a federal lawsuit in February, claiming he suffered multiple injuries from Ujiri shoving him. The Raptors, Maple Leaf Entertainment, and the NBA were also named in the lawsuit. Strickland, who was previously arrested and convicted on fraud charges, also alleged that Ujiri had a “violent predisposition.”
“Mr. Strickland used unnecessary and excessive force,” a counterclaim from Ujiri’s team said. “There was no reason to view Mr. Ujiri as a threat to anyone and no reason for Mr. Strickland to curse at Mr. Ujiri and forcefully shove him as numerous witnesses observed.”
