Sefolosha, cops differ on late-night sidewalk exchange
Four New York City Police officers struggled on the witness stand Tuesday to explain why they arrested Hawks player Thabo Sefolosha, a rocky start for the prosecution in the first day of testimony in Sefolosha’s trial in a Manhattan courtroom.
While they made a strong case that Sefolosha derogatorily called one officer a “midget” during the April confrontation outside a Manhattan nightclub, they did little to refute defense attorney Alex Spiro’s claim that Sefolosha was singled out because of his race.
“I think he saw a black man in a hoodie,” Spiro told the jury, referring to Officer JohnPaul Giacona, who first confronted Sefolosha in the early morning hours of April 8.
Giacona and three other officers who testified attempted to make the case that Sefolosha didn’t follow police orders to leave the street outside the 1OAK night club, after Indiana Pacers player Chris Copeland and two other people were stabbed there. Under cross-examination by Spiro however, the officers admitted they were prepared to allow Sefolosha and his party to enter a waiting car and leave the area.
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