Authorities dropped criminal charges against former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson after he was caught on video punching a passenger in the first-class section of a plane at San Francisco International Airport.
The San Mateo County District Attorney reported Tuesday that it has filed the case and decided not to press charges after evaluating “the circumstances surrounding the altercation.”
“Those include the victim’s behavior in furtherance of the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests by both the victim and Mr. Tyson not to press charges,” prosecutor Stephen Wagstaffe said in a statement. a statement.
Police had previously said the victim had provided few details about the incident and refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Tyson’s representatives had previously said the boxer was on a flight with “an aggressive passenger who started harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat.”
The April 20 video shows Tyson leaning over his seat and repeatedly punching the unidentified man in the head until he bled. The footage was first reported by TMZ, which said it was taken on a Jet Blue flight to Florida.
Before the altercation, the man can be seen standing and leaning over Tyson’s seat, waving his arms and speaking in an agitated manner as the former boxer sits silently.
Tyson’s attorneys praised the prosecution’s decision in a statement Tuesday, thanking authorities for “prudent, diligent and professional work.”
Since Tyson, 55, retired, he has worked as an actor, podcaster and entrepreneur in the cannabis industry. He was in San Francisco for the annual 420 cannabis festival in Golden Gate Park, where he promoted his Tyson 2.0 brand, the SFGate website said.
In 1987 Tyson became the youngest heavyweight champion in history at the age of 20. In his career he achieved 50 victories, 44 of them by knockout.