Tyson Counters Photographer's Accusations
"Iron Mike" is out on bail after allegedly hitting a paparazzo
By JACK NOYES
Updated 8:41 AM PDT, Thu, Nov 12, 2009
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Boxing legend Mike Tyson allegedly hit a photographer at Los Angeles International Airport and was booked and released on $20,000 bail on suspicion of misdemeanor battery Wednesday, police said.
Tyson and the unnamed photographer made a citizen's arrest on each other and both want to press charges for misdemeanor battery, police said. Police are checking whether there was any surveillance video of the incident.
At 4: 30 p.m. former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson got into a beef with a paparazzo at the United Airlines counter inside Terminal 7, police told the Los Angeles City News Service. There were conflicting reports from witnesses about the fight.
The paparazzo told police that the former heavyweight boxing champion struck him once, airport police spokesman Sgt. Jim Holcomb said. The photographer fell to the ground and was treated for a cut to his forehead at a hospital.
Tyson's spokeswoman Tammy Brook said the boxer was traveling with his wife and 10-month-old child Wednesday afternoon when he was attacked by an overly aggressive paparazzo. The 43-year-old acted in self-defense to protect his child, she said.
"There's a lot of different versions to this story and that's all going to come out later," Holcomb said. "Some witness statements support Tyson's version, others support the photographer's."
Paparazzi often camp out at Los Angeles' largest airport to get shots of celebrities in transit.
"I've heard people were following him into the men's room and trying to take his picture there," said Tyson's defense attorney, David Chesnoff. "My advice to him is going to be to vigorously press charges against what everyone agrees are ridiculously aggressive photographers."
Tyson was cooperative as he waited in a holding cell at the airport police station, Holcomb said. The photographer will also be booked once he is released from the hospital, police said.
Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion ever in 1986 when he won his title as a 20-year-old. But his life since then has been marred by accusations of domestic violence, rape and cocaine use.
Tyson was convicted of rape in Indiana in 1992 and served three years in prison. He was disqualified from a 1997 heavyweight title fight when he bit off part of Evander Holyfield's right ear, and in 1999 he pleaded no contest to misdemeanor assault charges in Maryland. The pair recently reconciled on "Oprah."
In 2003, Tyson filed for Chapter 11 protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. He served 24 hours in an Arizona jail in 2007 after pleading guilty to cocaine possession and driving under the influence.
More recently, his 4-year-old daughter, Exodus, died after being strangled by a treadmill cord earlier this year.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Los Angeles
First Published: Nov 11, 2009 6:19 PM PDT
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