Thabo & Pero Arrested; Thabo OUT FOR SEASON due to injuries

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Congrats to Thabo for winning his court case. Now the question is, does he let this go, or does he pursue a civil suit?  

A part of me wishes he'll celebrate today's court victory, but not sue the NYPD, so that he can solely concentrate on basketball.  But I'll completely understand if he did sue them.  At the very least, they cost him playoff money ( if players on injured reserve don't get paid for being on a playoff roster ).

[AHF]

Too bad the Hawks can't sue them.  This outcome was more than obvious coming in.  It would have been a monumental coup for the police had they convicted Thabo of anything.  Instead, the real question is whether he moves onto the civil suit and what damages he would seek.  He got paid all his wages so there is nothing lost there.  You have some amount of pain and suffering (possibly limited under NY state law) and the possibility that he could argue for lost playoff bonus money due to the team not doing as well with him absent.  The last point is hard to prove as a form of consequential damages but would be the most interesting for Squawk fans to debate.

[Guest]

Thabo busted one-a these on his way outta the coatroom ...

(Get it?  Huh, huh?)

NYPD's long-term investment plans ...

Thats' all I got.  Congrats, Thabo!!

On the road outta NC.

 

 

 

[Guest]

Good - unto basketball.

I'm sure NYPD have their settlement offer ready.

[capstone21]

unfortunately the Hawks are the big losers in this because we badly needed him in the playoffs

Congrats to Thabo though

[lethalweapon3]

The Law fought Thabo,and Thabo won!

Way to go, jurors!

And dear NYPD: in advance of the civil trial, I'm sorry that Mr. $efolo$ha will soon be in an even better financial situation than you.

~lw3

[capstone21]

if he was smart he will sue and then donate to charity

[lethalweapon3]

Not like I need to tell the NYPD how to set people up, and not like the Prosecution acted like they even wanted to be there in the first place. But there was a way they could have tightened up their case.

A pro basketball player and his entourage had just been stabbed, creating a chaotic scene around the club in the minutes following the incident. The cops were ordered (allegedly) to clear the block, so the investigation could proceed.

So why "target" Thabo? Because he appears to be yet another pro basketball player, coming out from the same club.

After all, people are running up to him (and that tall white dude he's with... must be his bodyguard!) outside the club, trying to get selfies and whatnot, creating a disturbance near the taped-off crime scene. People chilling on the sidewalk eating pizzas are one thing, but this guy's presence is making it tough on the cops to get the sidewalk clear for investigators going to/from the scene from around the corner.

Get him as far from the scene as possible, and maybe things will calm down. With THAT as the premise, the question of why the NYPD went after Thabo and hardly anyone else near him, could have had a logical answer that takes racial discrimination out of the equation.

Why run up on Truth the Beggar and whisk him away from Thabo? Because you needed to talk to him, right away. After all, he was a key witness for the Copeland stabbings and a participant in the aftermath. If I'm Copeland, I'm ticked off at the NYPD. Here's a guy who (based on his testimony), works with cops all the time, and directly assisted in treating Copeland's wounds until emergency responders could arrive. Rather than being treated like a witness and a potential lifesaver, he's being shoved up the street, and then rousted about around the corner.

The Cabaret Cops on-scene seemed less interested in investigating who was involved and how things transpired, in support of Copeland and the stab victims, and more interested in clearing the street so Artichoke Pizza customers could munch in peace.

Officer Small-Fry was clearly not in charge of the Copeland investigation, but I'd imagine it would behoove the NYPD to have calmly taken Thabo and Pero aside, re-directed them to investigators on-scene, and asked some quick questions about their relationship, if any, with Copeland, and whether they witnessed anything out of sorts going on in the club before the stabbing, then send the duo off into the night/dawn.

But no, this cop was too much into his feelings to think logically or professionally about the investigation. This was his F'ing block (his words), and escalating what should have been routine operations into what actually transpired was his lifelong wet dream coming to life. "Badge or not, I'll F you up," Officer Home Alone insisted. But it sure seems practical for him to have that Badge handy.

 

~lw3

[lethalweapon3]

No idea if he'll ever see this, but major praise to AtlantaKnicks on Reddit (and the Wizards fan who filled in for him yesterday) for their informed witnessing of the trial proceedings. Their efforts saved us from a ton of unnecessary speculation this week.

 

~lw3

[bird_dirt]

Congrats Thabo! If I were in town, I'd take you out to celebrate tonight! 

[Dejay]

Congrats Thabo! If I were in town, I'd take you out to celebrate tonight! 

Oh no. Not again....

[Spursfanpeacemaker]

Congrats to Thabo! I remember arguing in this thread in the past that he should haven't clubbing late in night knowing that he has a game the following day, but I never think Thabo as a bad person, and he didn't deserved  his leg get broken by the NYC police.  Watching hawks last year playoffs without Thabo was hard.. Hopefully this season he'll stay healthy and will be able to help his team and participate in this season playoffs.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Spursfanpeacemaker

[capstone21]

I feel like this should be much bigger headline ... Main article of ESPN and regular news sites.  It shouldn't just be a little hidden article.  It was big front page news when they were actually arrested... 

[lethalweapon3]

I feel like this should be much bigger headline ... Main article of ESPN and regular news sites.  It shouldn't just be a little hidden article.  It was big front page news when they were actually arrested... 

A different verdict and it probably would be front page banner news. Complete with a panel discussion of "Which Team Replaces the Hawks in the Playoffs Now?"

~lw3

[Dejay]

A different verdict and it probably would be front page banner news. Complete with a panel discussion of "Which Team Replaces the Hawks in the Playoffs Now?"

~lw3

It would've been more like 'where do the Hawks fall in next year's lottery?' They've already all but buried them for this season after Carroll left. And even when they start out the gates winning again, the big topic regarding them will be 'yeah, but talk to me when they win in the playoffs'. Huh? They went to the ECFs last year, dammit...

Edited October 9, 2015 by Dejay

[lethalweapon3]

~lw3

[Guest]

~lw3

"pain and trauma ... suffered over the past 6 months ... bring back the opportunity to have played in ECF ... shot at NBA title ..."

I see you, Thabo.  Como se dice, compensatory damages ...

[lethalweapon3]

 

~lw3

[Blunt91]

I hope the fans at the Philips Arena cheer loudly for him when he plays his first game this year.

[High5]

if he was smart he will sue and then donate to charity

That would be fun. Sue them for way more than they're prepared to give up while making it public knowledge that 100% would go to charity. Then the NYPD looks even worse for fighting a donation. Of course I don't know much about suing people or an entity as large as the NYPD. It'll probably be something boring and unsatisfying to everyone except Thabo's attorneys.