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Basketbrawl Charges
Aired December 08, 2004 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Making the call on the basketbrawl. Live this hour, police expected to announce criminal charges against players and fans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal? And why don't we have those resources readily available to us?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Troops with tough questions for the secretary of defense. You'll hear his answer straight ahead.
PHILLIPS: Throwing money out the window, literally. Crooks caught on tape trying to ditch the evidence.
WHITFIELD: And remember this guy right here? A beer-guzzling bear apparently clicks with a lot of you. Find out why this tipsy tippler is topping a new list.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Remember when a charge in basketball had to do with movement on the court, not criminal proceedings in a court? We are going to take you to a live now to the press conference about those players now being charged with that basketbrawl you remember.
DAVID GORCYKA, OAKLAND COUNTY PROSECUTOR: ... to thank a few organizations. First, the Piston organization for their cooperation and this endeavor. Secondly, the NBA security officials have been of great assistance to us and a phenomenal benefit. And specially, obviously, the Auburn Hills Police Department for their thorough and very professional investigation that has made it easy upon my staff to issue the charges that we are going to levy today, which I'll announce in a minute.
But before doing so, I'd like to inform you that we have called over 10 video feeds from the Pistons-Pacers game, countless hours of staff time and resources from the Auburn Hills Police Department, and over 1,000 pages of security reports, police reports and witness statements. We have made every effort to be fair and unbiased in our charging decisions. Every effort was also made to discern the identity of all the major suspects or individuals who were involved in any kind of fisticuffs. And as you will observe shortly, we feel we were very judicious in our charging decisions, and attempted to decipher acts of retaliation from self-defense.
Now, one thing that you're going to observe shortly is one obvious fact that is very prevalent throughout the course of what transpired, is that for every thrown cup or liquid substance, the melee seemed to have escalated. And, in fact, probably was the major inciting reason why there was confrontation between players, as well as fans.
Now, in chronological order, I'm going to list and lay out the charges -- Paul.
First, John Green will face two counts of assault and battery. One involving a cup that struck Ron Artest in the chest and face area. A second is also an assault on Ron Artest from behind when he struck him, I believe, two or three times with the fist.
Secondly, Ron Artest will face one count of assault for, I think, mistakenly striking and pushing and shoving the fan by the name of Mike Ryan.
Third, William Paulson will face one count of assault and battery for throwing a cup into a player's -- Ron Artest's face, which again, further escalated the situation.
Next is Stephen Jackson will face one count of assault and battery for the retaliation against William Paulson, who threw the cup at Artest.
Next is David Wallace will face one count of assault and battery. He happens to be Ben Wallace's brother who struck a player, Jones, I believe is his name, from behind, not in self-defense.
Next we have Bryant Jackson, who will face two counts, felonious assault for the throwing of the chair and assault and battery. He also threw a cup or a liquid substance at a player.
Jermaine O'Neal will face two counts of assault and battery. One involving an usher by the name of Ken Zeorski (ph), and secondly involving another fan on the court by the name of Charlie Haddad.
We also have one count of assault and battery involving Anthony Johnson for assault and battery on Charlie Haddad. When you observe the videotape, Mr. Johnson was not in uniform. He was in a brown suit that evening. So when we play the video, be conscious of that, that he is, in fact, a player.
Next, we have John Ackerman who as the players -- visiting players, the Pacers, were exiting the visiting tunnel on the way out, John Ackerman again threw a cup or watery substance, striking a player, which resulted in further retaliation. Next is David Harrison, who assaulted John Ackerman as a result of Ackerman throwing a cup and striking, I believe, it is player O'Neal.
Now, I would like the public and the media to be apprised of what constitutes a battery. It's a forceful, violent or offensive touching a person. It does not mean whether the touching caused an injury. And that is important. But it must have been intended and not accidental.
Now, what's important here is that most people, lay people, envision an assault and battery with a fist striking the face of another individual. The courts have ruled that spitting in the space, shoving, pushing or touching, in an angry, indecent, rude or hostile manner can constitute assault and battery.
This is important for the reason being that we've charged a number of fans for throwing liquid substances. Thus, analogous to the spit in the face.
Next, Paul.
Now, this is equally important due to the fact that none of the individuals, combatants or participants, sustained any injuries that we're aware of. There's no substantiated physical injuries.
The reason that is important is that is why we could not charge more serious offenses against either players or fans. There are no serious injuries such as stitches, broken bones or chipped teeth.
Most of the individuals were treated; several of the players and fans were treated at the palace and released. Two went to the hospital. They were also treated and released for minor bruising.
Now, what's important here is this is the seating arrangement prior to the blatant foul between Artest and Wallace. John Green -- the individuals delineated in the red arrows are defendants. In the blue arrows, they will be characterized as victims. In this case, Paulson is both.
Now, John Green we will depict -- in my mind, single-handedly incited this whole interaction between fans and players, and probably is the one that's the most culpable, although there could be an argument made that the players were equally as culpable. Now, you're going to see John Green throw the cup, and you'll see him come into the picture here and lob and strike Artest with the cup. Right here.
There he stands up. He lobs the cup. As you can see, it goes up in the air and comes down and strikes Artest. That incited, in my mind, single-handedly, the whole situation, and probably why we're here today announcing charges.
Next, this is assault by Green on Artest. You can see Green here. This is Artest.
He's got him from behind, so he's not acting in self-defense. He's striking Artest in the face at least three times.
As you can see, the outline of Ron Artest here. He's in a defenseless position. That's the second count of assault and battery against John Green.
Ron Artest, this is the incident -- go ahead, Paul. We believe that he then -- Artest then exited the playing surface and ran up and assaulted Ryan, and we'll have a video of that in a minute. Mistakenly believing, I think, that he's the one who threw the cup.
Paulson, as you will observe, there's a couple of frames here. This is Paulson, Green and Artest. As you will observe in a minute, Paulson throws a cup of liquid substance -- we're not sure what it is, beer or water -- into the face of Artest.
Now, as I said, spitting in the face constitutes a battery. It would be analogous to a liquid substance striking Artest. So assault and battery against Artest.
Now, again, this situation resulted in O'Neal coming over and retaliating. Had not this occurred, perhaps O'Neal is just coming to the aid and defense of Artest.
Excuse me, Stephen Jackson, who will enter the scene here. As you can see, he's lining up. We have Green, Artest and Paulson. This is, I believe, Rick Mahorn, who is attempting to be a peacemaker.
As you can see, he struck him, Paulson, at least once that we're aware of. Therefore, one count of assault and battery against Paulson. You cannot retaliate or use that degree of force over and above that which would be necessary to repel the battery.
Next, David Wallace, as I mentioned, a player -- a brother's player -- Ben Wallace's brother. As you can see him here -- and that's Jones, the player -- Jones obviously has his back turned. In our opinion, David Wallace is not acting in self-defense. He strikes him at least three to four times.
OK. Now we're going to run a video of what you've just seen as it is depicted during the course of the game. I'm not sure what footage. Again, there was 10 feeds into the game. And we'll play you counts two through six.
You see Green, Artest. That's Ryan pushed and shoved down into the seating area. Here's Paulson.
I believe from reports that Ryan is saying, "I didn't do it. I didn't do it."
John Green enters the fray and will grab Artest from behind, and begin to assault him. That's the second count of assault and battery against John Green.
Shortly, you will see Paulson here with a liquid substance or cup. Right here. Obviously, Artest is being restrained.
Here comes Jackson. And here comes the substance, which constitutes assault and battery against Artest. That's Paulson.
As a result of that, I think he was coming to -- Jackson was coming to the defense of Artest. He immediately retaliates against Paulson.
He is then subdued over here. But then keep your eye on John Green. I believe this is Rick Mahorn trying -- former Piston player, trying to keep peace.
Now here's Green. This is Rasheed Wallace, who had come in, in an effort to be a peacemaker as well. It should be noted that none of the videotape footage that we've observed did any Pistons throw any punches to anyone, or at anyone.
I see Green here. Here you go with the fist. He strikes Artest once, a second time, and you will see David Wallace enter the fray here shortly. Right here. That was David Wallace.
Now you can see he's coming from behind. He's not coming in defense of himself or others. And he will -- he will strike Jones, I believe, three to four times. Once, twice, and a third time. OK.
Next, the one count of assault and battery against Jermaine O'Neal, who -- this is Ken Zeorski (ph), who is a security or usher for the Palace. On his shirt is an emblem of Palace or Palace Security. And here is O'Neal.
Ken Zeorski (ph) will be thrown over the media row here and end up on his back. This is the outline of his legs here. We also have a video footage of how that transpires.
Right down here he grabs him from behind in an unprovoked fashion. There -- he throws him over the bench. Ken Zeorski (ph) to date has not returned to work and has suffered, we are told, a back strain. And if you could see in that video, he comes up and immediately grabs his chest.
Now what we have here is Haddad, a season ticket holder, who entered the playing surface. And this is, I believe, Shackleford (ph), the other individual who came on to the court. O'Neal will come from this direction.
Over here, off the screen, is Artest, who originally confronted him. We don't feel because of the time and the distance between Artest and the fact that the fight has terminated that O'Neal has a legitimate claim to come in and come forth with a self-defense claim. And again, we'll have videotape footage and clipage (ph) of what we mean.
Here comes O'Neal striking Haddad. As you can see, it's O'Neal striking Haddad. This was -- that was Johnson right here, who also strikes Haddad, which you'll see in a minute. But you can also see the number of Palace security and ushers surrounding Haddad and Shackleford (ph) in an effort to restrain them, which is why we further believe it was not an act of self-defense. You can see this is Johnson. Artest is already out of the way. And they are on the floor when Johnson came over and struck Haddad on the floor, while he was being restrained in a defenseless position.
Again, this is Johnson, who you observe in the brown suit, who also comes over and attacks him. This is Johnson.
Here's Haddad on the floor with a number of security personnel and a player. He is bent over in a defenseless posture. When he strikes him, as you can see, he's kneeling on the ground and really doesn't even know what's coming. And that's why Johnson was charged with one count of assault and battery.
And the video footage -- this happens quite quickly. As you can see, he strikes him. Artest is already out of the melee.
Now this is Ackerman, who is a fan, who is in attendance with his father. For identification purposes, I'll call them Ackerman Sr. and Jr.
There's Ackerman right here, Jr. In his hand is a cup. We believe it to be beer because in a minute you'll see a yellow substance strike O'Neal. The yellow substance is right here. That constituting an assault and battery. This being Ackerman Jr..
As a result of that, Harrison comes over and strikes Ackerman. And again, every time something is thrown at a player, the situation escalates. And here's the video footage that is -- again, it's pretty quick.
You're going to have to see right there is Ackerman Sr. and Ackerson Jr. So keep your eye on this area in the lower left-hand portion, right -- right there.
Now, as a result of all of this, you can see the situation is out of control and it's absolute pandemonium. In a minute you'll see as a result of Ackerman throwing that, Harrison comes in and retaliates.
Now, this is again going to happen pretty quickly. Right down here. That's Ackerman Sr. There's Jr. right there. And then you'll see Harrison come in.
That was the chair that was thrown by Bryant Jackson. Again, he will face two counts, felonious assault, which is a four-year felony, and one count of assault and battery. Assault and batter for the throwing of a liquid substance -- not sure what it is -- at one of the players, and the felonious assault for the throwing of the chair.
As you can see, he's there. This is the rail of the visitors' exit tunnel here. And when he's coming down, this is Ackerman Sr. and Ackerman Jr.
Again, he has -- this is the count of assault and battery. He's throwing a cup or liquid substance as defined by the courts. It would constitute an assault and battery. He's wearing a backwards Tiger cap and a leather jacket with a white shirt, which you'll see. Now, quickly, the definition of a felonious assault is they committed a battery. That the batter was committed with a dangerous weapon. In this instance, a chair.
And a dangerous weapon is loosely defined as any object used in a way that is likely to cause physical injury or death. And it's the way in which the object was used and intended that constitute the felonious assault.
Here again is Bryant Jackson. These are a little bit blurry, but you can see him here.
He's actually leaving the visitors' tunnel and working his way up into the stands, where he is now wiggling loose a chair. That's what he's got in his hands here.
This photograph will depict that he has a chair in two hands and is about to throw it. But as you'll see here, he launches -- he cocks it back and then throws it with his left hand, the chair here. It ultimately strikes an Auburn Hills police officer, some ushers, and I believe a player.
And again, that's the chair. That's him cocking it back like this and then launching it. The right hand has released. Left hand is now launching it into the crowd. And this is the chair that's being thrown here. He is now here making his way out of the stadium.
This, again, goes quickly, but we'll try to slow it down as best we can.
Help me out, guys.
OK, that was the chair. We have another footage.
OK, there he is. There's Bryant Jackson right there. There's the chair. And very quickly, he will hurl it.
You can see him with the cap on. We'll have a better set of footage for you in a minute.
As you can see, the chair right here being thrown, striking several individuals in the visiting team's exiting tunnel. And there he is right there, then running away. Thus, the one count of felonious assault.
Now, I want to quickly define "self-defense" and "defense of others," because in a minute we'll be -- we'll further explain why Ron Artest was not charged in one incident. We were trying to be very judicious in our charging decisions.
Very quickly, first, acting in self-defense or the defense of others, the individual must honestly and reasonably believe that he has to use the force to protect himself or another. And is only justified to use that degree of force necessary to protect himself or the other. And then the right to defend yourself or the other only lasts as long as is necessary for the purposes of protection. As you recall, when Artest was removed from the Haddad-Shackleford (ph) scenario on the court, there was enough time and delay and distance that we felt that the two players that struck Haddad were not acting in self-defense.
Now, hold it here. This is Shackleford (ph), who is on the playing surface. You notice he has a clenched fist.
We believe he was predisposed to enter into the fracas and take on Artest. He is also trespassing, and we believe he's coming at him -- coming at him in a menacing fashion.
Go ahead, Paul.
And we believe that, you know, again, he's coming at him. He's not backing away from Artest. And the next clip you'll see they exchange words.
As you can see, there's some words being exchanged. He's trespassing. Again, we believe he was predisposed in a premeditated fashion, wanting to get in the fight. We also have background information on Haddad with the Yao Ming situation, where he made a comment which I think further corroborates our opinion that this was an act of self-defense.
However, after this, Artest is, I think, pulled away perhaps by Reggie Miller, but is at least 10 feet away. And security personnel comes in and grabs Haddad and Shackleford (ph). And that's when Johnson and, I believe O'Neal, come in and strike Haddad.
So these are the charges that we've leveled based upon the video footage, still-frame footage and the 1,000 pages of reports that we've observed. I would now like to bring forward Doreen Olko, again, the chief of police of Auburn Hills. She has some comments to make regarding this investigation.
CHIEF DOREEN E. OLKO, AUBURN HILLS POLICE: Thank you, Mr. Gorcyka.
I would like to -- I would like to begin today by thanking those individuals who acted as peacemakers. As you saw in the tape, there were some individuals that tried to interrupt these assaults in progress. And I would like to thank them for their efforts.
They are Palace security, Palace guest services, or otherwise known as the ushers, and they were members of both the Pistons organization and the Pacers organizations. All of these individuals took action to confront the situation and to assist us in clearing the floor for the safety of everyone that was involved.
I would also like to commend the staff of the Auburn Hills Police Department, who did a tremendous job that night in controlling a very difficult and unruly crowd, and for those later involved in the investigation. They did so under intense media scrutiny, as you know, which is a challenge. Despite -- I would also like to -- oh, despite the serious nature of the charges announced today, I want to clearly state that the Palace of Auburn Hills and the Auburn Hills Police Department continue to have a strong partnership toward the security and positive nature of the events at the Palace. We have created a safe environment there for 16 years and through three NBA finals. So I believe the record will show that we have done a very, very good job.
Those few individuals that you have just seen charged whose behavior creates the situation are being held accountable for their actions today. In addition to the charges leveled by Mr. Gorcyca's office, our city attorney has authorized charges, misdemeanor ordinance violations for Mr. Haddad, who you saw identified here, and Mr. Shackelford, both one count each for entry upon a performance or playing area.
Our investigation will continue into the identities of the other individuals who threw items or entered onto the floor. They also will be held accountable for their actions.
I want to reiterate to you that for 16 years, the Palace has been a safe and positive environment. This incident was completely uncharacteristic of our community, and of the Palace.
The acceptable level of violence at all levels of sports competition is a matter of significance -- significant importance in this country today. We hope that this incident can serve as a turning point to mark the return of sportsmanship and civilized conduct of players and of their fans at all levels of sport competition.
Thank you very much.
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Aired December 8, 2004 - 13:59 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Making the call on the basketbrawl. Live this hour, police expected to announce criminal charges against players and fans.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal? And why don't we have those resources readily available to us?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Troops with tough questions for the secretary of defense. You'll hear his answer straight ahead.
PHILLIPS: Throwing money out the window, literally. Crooks caught on tape trying to ditch the evidence.
WHITFIELD: And remember this guy right here? A beer-guzzling bear apparently clicks with a lot of you. Find out why this tipsy tippler is topping a new list.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Fredricka Whitfield, in for Miles O'Brien.
PHILLIPS: And I'm kyra Phillips. This hour of CNN's LIVE FROM starts right now.
Remember when a charge in basketball had to do with movement on the court, not criminal proceedings in a court? We are going to take you to a live now to the press conference about those players now being charged with that basketbrawl you remember.
DAVID GORCYKA, OAKLAND COUNTY PROSECUTOR: ... to thank a few organizations. First, the Piston organization for their cooperation and this endeavor. Secondly, the NBA security officials have been of great assistance to us and a phenomenal benefit. And specially, obviously, the Auburn Hills Police Department for their thorough and very professional investigation that has made it easy upon my staff to issue the charges that we are going to levy today, which I'll announce in a minute.
But before doing so, I'd like to inform you that we have called over 10 video feeds from the Pistons-Pacers game, countless hours of staff time and resources from the Auburn Hills Police Department, and over 1,000 pages of security reports, police reports and witness statements. We have made every effort to be fair and unbiased in our charging decisions. Every effort was also made to discern the identity of all the major suspects or individuals who were involved in any kind of fisticuffs. And as you will observe shortly, we feel we were very judicious in our charging decisions, and attempted to decipher acts of retaliation from self-defense.
Now, one thing that you're going to observe shortly is one obvious fact that is very prevalent throughout the course of what transpired, is that for every thrown cup or liquid substance, the melee seemed to have escalated. And, in fact, probably was the major inciting reason why there was confrontation between players, as well as fans.
Now, in chronological order, I'm going to list and lay out the charges -- Paul.
First, John Green will face two counts of assault and battery. One involving a cup that struck Ron Artest in the chest and face area. A second is also an assault on Ron Artest from behind when he struck him, I believe, two or three times with the fist.
Secondly, Ron Artest will face one count of assault for, I think, mistakenly striking and pushing and shoving the fan by the name of Mike Ryan.
Third, William Paulson will face one count of assault and battery for throwing a cup into a player's -- Ron Artest's face, which again, further escalated the situation.
Next is Stephen Jackson will face one count of assault and battery for the retaliation against William Paulson, who threw the cup at Artest.
Next is David Wallace will face one count of assault and battery. He happens to be Ben Wallace's brother who struck a player, Jones, I believe is his name, from behind, not in self-defense.
Next we have Bryant Jackson, who will face two counts, felonious assault for the throwing of the chair and assault and battery. He also threw a cup or a liquid substance at a player.
Jermaine O'Neal will face two counts of assault and battery. One involving an usher by the name of Ken Zeorski (ph), and secondly involving another fan on the court by the name of Charlie Haddad.
We also have one count of assault and battery involving Anthony Johnson for assault and battery on Charlie Haddad. When you observe the videotape, Mr. Johnson was not in uniform. He was in a brown suit that evening. So when we play the video, be conscious of that, that he is, in fact, a player.
Next, we have John Ackerman who as the players -- visiting players, the Pacers, were exiting the visiting tunnel on the way out, John Ackerman again threw a cup or watery substance, striking a player, which resulted in further retaliation. Next is David Harrison, who assaulted John Ackerman as a result of Ackerman throwing a cup and striking, I believe, it is player O'Neal.
Now, I would like the public and the media to be apprised of what constitutes a battery. It's a forceful, violent or offensive touching a person. It does not mean whether the touching caused an injury. And that is important. But it must have been intended and not accidental.
Now, what's important here is that most people, lay people, envision an assault and battery with a fist striking the face of another individual. The courts have ruled that spitting in the space, shoving, pushing or touching, in an angry, indecent, rude or hostile manner can constitute assault and battery.
This is important for the reason being that we've charged a number of fans for throwing liquid substances. Thus, analogous to the spit in the face.
Next, Paul.
Now, this is equally important due to the fact that none of the individuals, combatants or participants, sustained any injuries that we're aware of. There's no substantiated physical injuries.
The reason that is important is that is why we could not charge more serious offenses against either players or fans. There are no serious injuries such as stitches, broken bones or chipped teeth.
Most of the individuals were treated; several of the players and fans were treated at the palace and released. Two went to the hospital. They were also treated and released for minor bruising.
Now, what's important here is this is the seating arrangement prior to the blatant foul between Artest and Wallace. John Green -- the individuals delineated in the red arrows are defendants. In the blue arrows, they will be characterized as victims. In this case, Paulson is both.
Now, John Green we will depict -- in my mind, single-handedly incited this whole interaction between fans and players, and probably is the one that's the most culpable, although there could be an argument made that the players were equally as culpable. Now, you're going to see John Green throw the cup, and you'll see him come into the picture here and lob and strike Artest with the cup. Right here.
There he stands up. He lobs the cup. As you can see, it goes up in the air and comes down and strikes Artest. That incited, in my mind, single-handedly, the whole situation, and probably why we're here today announcing charges.
Next, this is assault by Green on Artest. You can see Green here. This is Artest.
He's got him from behind, so he's not acting in self-defense. He's striking Artest in the face at least three times.
As you can see, the outline of Ron Artest here. He's in a defenseless position. That's the second count of assault and battery against John Green.
Ron Artest, this is the incident -- go ahead, Paul. We believe that he then -- Artest then exited the playing surface and ran up and assaulted Ryan, and we'll have a video of that in a minute. Mistakenly believing, I think, that he's the one who threw the cup.
Paulson, as you will observe, there's a couple of frames here. This is Paulson, Green and Artest. As you will observe in a minute, Paulson throws a cup of liquid substance -- we're not sure what it is, beer or water -- into the face of Artest.
Now, as I said, spitting in the face constitutes a battery. It would be analogous to a liquid substance striking Artest. So assault and battery against Artest.
Now, again, this situation resulted in O'Neal coming over and retaliating. Had not this occurred, perhaps O'Neal is just coming to the aid and defense of Artest.
Excuse me, Stephen Jackson, who will enter the scene here. As you can see, he's lining up. We have Green, Artest and Paulson. This is, I believe, Rick Mahorn, who is attempting to be a peacemaker.
As you can see, he struck him, Paulson, at least once that we're aware of. Therefore, one count of assault and battery against Paulson. You cannot retaliate or use that degree of force over and above that which would be necessary to repel the battery.
Next, David Wallace, as I mentioned, a player -- a brother's player -- Ben Wallace's brother. As you can see him here -- and that's Jones, the player -- Jones obviously has his back turned. In our opinion, David Wallace is not acting in self-defense. He strikes him at least three to four times.
OK. Now we're going to run a video of what you've just seen as it is depicted during the course of the game. I'm not sure what footage. Again, there was 10 feeds into the game. And we'll play you counts two through six.
You see Green, Artest. That's Ryan pushed and shoved down into the seating area. Here's Paulson.
I believe from reports that Ryan is saying, "I didn't do it. I didn't do it."
John Green enters the fray and will grab Artest from behind, and begin to assault him. That's the second count of assault and battery against John Green.
Shortly, you will see Paulson here with a liquid substance or cup. Right here. Obviously, Artest is being restrained.
Here comes Jackson. And here comes the substance, which constitutes assault and battery against Artest. That's Paulson.
As a result of that, I think he was coming to -- Jackson was coming to the defense of Artest. He immediately retaliates against Paulson.
He is then subdued over here. But then keep your eye on John Green. I believe this is Rick Mahorn trying -- former Piston player, trying to keep peace.
Now here's Green. This is Rasheed Wallace, who had come in, in an effort to be a peacemaker as well. It should be noted that none of the videotape footage that we've observed did any Pistons throw any punches to anyone, or at anyone.
I see Green here. Here you go with the fist. He strikes Artest once, a second time, and you will see David Wallace enter the fray here shortly. Right here. That was David Wallace.
Now you can see he's coming from behind. He's not coming in defense of himself or others. And he will -- he will strike Jones, I believe, three to four times. Once, twice, and a third time. OK.
Next, the one count of assault and battery against Jermaine O'Neal, who -- this is Ken Zeorski (ph), who is a security or usher for the Palace. On his shirt is an emblem of Palace or Palace Security. And here is O'Neal.
Ken Zeorski (ph) will be thrown over the media row here and end up on his back. This is the outline of his legs here. We also have a video footage of how that transpires.
Right down here he grabs him from behind in an unprovoked fashion. There -- he throws him over the bench. Ken Zeorski (ph) to date has not returned to work and has suffered, we are told, a back strain. And if you could see in that video, he comes up and immediately grabs his chest.
Now what we have here is Haddad, a season ticket holder, who entered the playing surface. And this is, I believe, Shackleford (ph), the other individual who came on to the court. O'Neal will come from this direction.
Over here, off the screen, is Artest, who originally confronted him. We don't feel because of the time and the distance between Artest and the fact that the fight has terminated that O'Neal has a legitimate claim to come in and come forth with a self-defense claim. And again, we'll have videotape footage and clipage (ph) of what we mean.
Here comes O'Neal striking Haddad. As you can see, it's O'Neal striking Haddad. This was -- that was Johnson right here, who also strikes Haddad, which you'll see in a minute. But you can also see the number of Palace security and ushers surrounding Haddad and Shackleford (ph) in an effort to restrain them, which is why we further believe it was not an act of self-defense. You can see this is Johnson. Artest is already out of the way. And they are on the floor when Johnson came over and struck Haddad on the floor, while he was being restrained in a defenseless position.
Again, this is Johnson, who you observe in the brown suit, who also comes over and attacks him. This is Johnson.
Here's Haddad on the floor with a number of security personnel and a player. He is bent over in a defenseless posture. When he strikes him, as you can see, he's kneeling on the ground and really doesn't even know what's coming. And that's why Johnson was charged with one count of assault and battery.
And the video footage -- this happens quite quickly. As you can see, he strikes him. Artest is already out of the melee.
Now this is Ackerman, who is a fan, who is in attendance with his father. For identification purposes, I'll call them Ackerman Sr. and Jr.
There's Ackerman right here, Jr. In his hand is a cup. We believe it to be beer because in a minute you'll see a yellow substance strike O'Neal. The yellow substance is right here. That constituting an assault and battery. This being Ackerman Jr..
As a result of that, Harrison comes over and strikes Ackerman. And again, every time something is thrown at a player, the situation escalates. And here's the video footage that is -- again, it's pretty quick.
You're going to have to see right there is Ackerman Sr. and Ackerson Jr. So keep your eye on this area in the lower left-hand portion, right -- right there.
Now, as a result of all of this, you can see the situation is out of control and it's absolute pandemonium. In a minute you'll see as a result of Ackerman throwing that, Harrison comes in and retaliates.
Now, this is again going to happen pretty quickly. Right down here. That's Ackerman Sr. There's Jr. right there. And then you'll see Harrison come in.
That was the chair that was thrown by Bryant Jackson. Again, he will face two counts, felonious assault, which is a four-year felony, and one count of assault and battery. Assault and batter for the throwing of a liquid substance -- not sure what it is -- at one of the players, and the felonious assault for the throwing of the chair.
As you can see, he's there. This is the rail of the visitors' exit tunnel here. And when he's coming down, this is Ackerman Sr. and Ackerman Jr.
Again, he has -- this is the count of assault and battery. He's throwing a cup or liquid substance as defined by the courts. It would constitute an assault and battery. He's wearing a backwards Tiger cap and a leather jacket with a white shirt, which you'll see. Now, quickly, the definition of a felonious assault is they committed a battery. That the batter was committed with a dangerous weapon. In this instance, a chair.
And a dangerous weapon is loosely defined as any object used in a way that is likely to cause physical injury or death. And it's the way in which the object was used and intended that constitute the felonious assault.
Here again is Bryant Jackson. These are a little bit blurry, but you can see him here.
He's actually leaving the visitors' tunnel and working his way up into the stands, where he is now wiggling loose a chair. That's what he's got in his hands here.
This photograph will depict that he has a chair in two hands and is about to throw it. But as you'll see here, he launches -- he cocks it back and then throws it with his left hand, the chair here. It ultimately strikes an Auburn Hills police officer, some ushers, and I believe a player.
And again, that's the chair. That's him cocking it back like this and then launching it. The right hand has released. Left hand is now launching it into the crowd. And this is the chair that's being thrown here. He is now here making his way out of the stadium.
This, again, goes quickly, but we'll try to slow it down as best we can.
Help me out, guys.
OK, that was the chair. We have another footage.
OK, there he is. There's Bryant Jackson right there. There's the chair. And very quickly, he will hurl it.
You can see him with the cap on. We'll have a better set of footage for you in a minute.
As you can see, the chair right here being thrown, striking several individuals in the visiting team's exiting tunnel. And there he is right there, then running away. Thus, the one count of felonious assault.
Now, I want to quickly define "self-defense" and "defense of others," because in a minute we'll be -- we'll further explain why Ron Artest was not charged in one incident. We were trying to be very judicious in our charging decisions.
Very quickly, first, acting in self-defense or the defense of others, the individual must honestly and reasonably believe that he has to use the force to protect himself or another. And is only justified to use that degree of force necessary to protect himself or the other. And then the right to defend yourself or the other only lasts as long as is necessary for the purposes of protection. As you recall, when Artest was removed from the Haddad-Shackleford (ph) scenario on the court, there was enough time and delay and distance that we felt that the two players that struck Haddad were not acting in self-defense.
Now, hold it here. This is Shackleford (ph), who is on the playing surface. You notice he has a clenched fist.
We believe he was predisposed to enter into the fracas and take on Artest. He is also trespassing, and we believe he's coming at him -- coming at him in a menacing fashion.
Go ahead, Paul.
And we believe that, you know, again, he's coming at him. He's not backing away from Artest. And the next clip you'll see they exchange words.
As you can see, there's some words being exchanged. He's trespassing. Again, we believe he was predisposed in a premeditated fashion, wanting to get in the fight. We also have background information on Haddad with the Yao Ming situation, where he made a comment which I think further corroborates our opinion that this was an act of self-defense.
However, after this, Artest is, I think, pulled away perhaps by Reggie Miller, but is at least 10 feet away. And security personnel comes in and grabs Haddad and Shackleford (ph). And that's when Johnson and, I believe O'Neal, come in and strike Haddad.
So these are the charges that we've leveled based upon the video footage, still-frame footage and the 1,000 pages of reports that we've observed. I would now like to bring forward Doreen Olko, again, the chief of police of Auburn Hills. She has some comments to make regarding this investigation.
CHIEF DOREEN E. OLKO, AUBURN HILLS POLICE: Thank you, Mr. Gorcyka.
I would like to -- I would like to begin today by thanking those individuals who acted as peacemakers. As you saw in the tape, there were some individuals that tried to interrupt these assaults in progress. And I would like to thank them for their efforts.
They are Palace security, Palace guest services, or otherwise known as the ushers, and they were members of both the Pistons organization and the Pacers organizations. All of these individuals took action to confront the situation and to assist us in clearing the floor for the safety of everyone that was involved.
I would also like to commend the staff of the Auburn Hills Police Department, who did a tremendous job that night in controlling a very difficult and unruly crowd, and for those later involved in the investigation. They did so under intense media scrutiny, as you know, which is a challenge. Despite -- I would also like to -- oh, despite the serious nature of the charges announced today, I want to clearly state that the Palace of Auburn Hills and the Auburn Hills Police Department continue to have a strong partnership toward the security and positive nature of the events at the Palace. We have created a safe environment there for 16 years and through three NBA finals. So I believe the record will show that we have done a very, very good job.
Those few individuals that you have just seen charged whose behavior creates the situation are being held accountable for their actions today. In addition to the charges leveled by Mr. Gorcyca's office, our city attorney has authorized charges, misdemeanor ordinance violations for Mr. Haddad, who you saw identified here, and Mr. Shackelford, both one count each for entry upon a performance or playing area.
Our investigation will continue into the identities of the other individuals who threw items or entered onto the floor. They also will be held accountable for their actions.
I want to reiterate to you that for 16 years, the Palace has been a safe and positive environment. This incident was completely uncharacteristic of our community, and of the Palace.
The acceptable level of violence at all levels of sports competition is a matter of significance -- significant importance in this country today. We hope that this incident can serve as a turning point to mark the return of sportsmanship and civilized conduct of players and of their fans at all levels of sport competition.
Thank you very much.
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