As previously reported by REVOLT, on April 20, boxing champ Mike Tyson was involved in an altercation with a fan aboard a flight.
Today (May 10), it was revealed that Tyson will not face any criminal charges for the incident.
San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe reviewed the case — including the video of the unruly fan — and decided not to proceed with filing charges.
Wagstaffe released a statement saying, “We have reviewed the police reports of the San Francisco Police Department and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office and have viewed the various videos collected by law enforcement from others on the airplane.” He continued, “Our decision is that we will not file any charges against Mr. Tyson based on the circumstances surrounding the confrontation. These include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in this case.”
Tyson was on a JetBlue airplane around 10:30 p.m. to leave San Francisco International Airport and head to Florida on the night of the incident when a seemingly drunken fan who was seated behind Tyson pestered the champ for photos. Video footage recorded by a nearby passenger showed the fan standing up over his seat trying to get the athlete’s attention.
Witnesses say that Tyson had already taken a photo with the fan before the incident, however, the fan continued with the unwanted interaction.
A representative for Tyson released a statement saying, “Unfortunately, Mr. Tyson had an incident on a flight with an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat.”
According to SFGate, a passenger named Sarah Burchfield was on the flight when the altercation took place and she recalled the fan being disorderly before he boarded the plane.
“When I boarded the flight, I thought, ‘Oh, no, that drunk guy is on our flight,'” Burchfield said after seeing the fan at an airport bar earlier in the evening. “The belligerent guy was sitting right behind him and I saw they were interacting,” she continued.
Tyson walked off of the flight after the incident occurred.