A Toronto Raptors executive was involved in an altercation with a sheriff's deputy at Oracle Arena shortly after the conclusion of Game 6 of the NBA Finals on Thursday, the Alameda County Sheriff's Office told Jon Schultz of the San Francisco Chronicle.
"(The deputy) did not know who the man was and asked for the credential, and that’s when he tried to push past our deputy, and our deputy pushed him back, and there was another push that kind of moved up and struck our deputy in the face," spokesperson Ray Kelly said.
"At that point, several bystanders intervened and the executive did ultimately get back onto the court without displaying credentials."
Video shows the aftermath of a situation where Raptors president Masai Ujiri is being separated from a law enforcement officer.
#BREAKING: Sheriff's deputy reportedly pushed and struck in the face by a man believed to be a Toronto Raptors executive after Game 6 of the #NBAFinals at Oracle Arena, @ACSOSheriffs says. https://t.co/fobdK9iWEq pic.twitter.com/a4X0IysY5Z
— Kristofer Noceda (@krisnoceda) June 14, 2019
"It’s not like we were going to chase him down," Kelly said. "He had a right to be there, but he didn't follow the credential policy."
No arrest was made, but the police are conducting a follow-up investigation. The case will be submitted to the Alameda County District Attorney's Office for a review of charges, Kelly said.
Ujiri is the subject of the sheriff's office's investigation, The Washington Post's Jacob Bogage reported Friday.
"Any time you push a police officer in California, it's a misdemeanor, battery of a police officer," Kelly said. "We are trying to deal with it in a way that is manageable without stirring up too much, but that being said, you aren't going to have someone push one of our officers and think they can just do that, no matter who you are."
