Dramatic new footage has emerged of the altercation between Toronto Raptors’ president, Masai Ujiri, and a San Francisco Bay Area police officer, following the Canadian team’s decisive game 6 victory in the NBA Finals last year.
The video, obtained by CNN, raises questions about a claim by the officer – Sheriff’s Deputy Alan Strickland – that Ujiri was the aggressor in the exchange.
The body camera footage shows the incident from Strickland’s perspective. In it, Ujiri is seen attempting to gain access to the court to celebrate with his team.
As Ujiri reaches into his jacket to show his all access credentials, Strickland twice shoves him away, grabbing him by the suit jacket and telling him to “back the f*** off.” Ujiri then shoves the officer back.
Other video shows the two men then being separated, before Ujiri was allowed access to the court.
The footage is included as part of a countersuit, filed by Ujiri in U.S. District Court in Oakland, California, on Tuesday.
Ujiri alleges in the suit that Strickland is perpetrating a fraud, claiming that the newly released body cam footage shows that Strickland used excessive force.
“To be sure, the great majority of law enforcement officers do not conduct themselves in this way. Mr. Strickland, however, has chosen dishonesty over integrity. Motivated by greed (and perhaps revenge), Mr. Strickland continues to lie about his encounter with Mr. Ujiri in an attempt to support his frivolous lawsuit,” reads the suit.
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