ESPN writer, Howard Bryant is disputing a police account that alleges he attacked his wife in front of their 6-year-old son outside the Buckland Pizza House in Massachusetts. Bryant was charged with domestic assault and resisting arrest. According to ESPN:
Witnesses said they saw a man choking and pinning a woman against a parked car, according to police. A customer inside the Buckland Pizza House called police just after noon on Saturday. Police said they have five witness statements.
After stopping Bryant and his wife, police said Bryant refused to let a state trooper handcuff him and struck the state trooper in the chest with his elbow.
Both Bryant and his wife, Veronique, say the assault never happened. She stated that Bryant had never abused her, and that she had never been in fear of her husband.
“The police weren’t listening to me and they attacked him with violence with our 6-year-old watching.”
Bryant also disputes the claim that he ever struck one of the state troopers. He calls the allegations of both the assault and resisting arrest “untrue” and was “saddened” by the damage that has been done to his reputation. His lawyer expanded on the situation by stating he believes race was involved.
“I believe that witnesses saw things through the lens of race and if it were a caucasian male they wouldn’t have blinked at what they saw,” said Buz Eisenberg.
“This case is about the fact that racism still exists in America, and Howard Bryant is a victim of it.”
Massachusetts state troopers and Buckland Police stand by their accounts and claim that racism was never involved. The initial trial date is set for April 21st.
[PhotoSource: ESPN]
