Atlanta Hawks forward Thabo Sefolosha will get a $4 million payout from the city to settle his police brutality lawsuit, officials said Wednesday.
Sefolosha was patronizing the posh 1OAK nightclub in the early hours of April 8, 2015. After the 6-foot-6 Sefolosha left, former Knick Chris Copeland was knifed outside the club.
Cops from the NYPD’s Cabaret Unit came to the scene and told people to leave, Sefolosha’s Manhattan Federal Court lawsuit, filed in April 2016, claimed.
Sefolosha was on his way out with his then-teammate Pero Antic when NYPD Officer Jean Paul Giacona “abused his authority,” the suit claimed.
“After being provoked by Giacona,” Sefolosha “referred to Giacona as a midget.”
Officers arrested Sefolosha and broke his leg — which could have ruined his career, his suit maintained.
Sefolosha, 32, was found not guilty of charges relating to the incident — such as resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and obstruction of governmental administration — in October 2015.
“This settlement is not a concession that Mr. Sefolosha was blameless in this matter and there was no admission of liability by the defendants,” the city Law Department said in a statement, “but in light of the gravity of his injuries, the potential impact on his career as a professional athlete and the challenge for a jury in sorting out the facts in this incident, the resolution of the case was in the best interests of the City.”
Sefolosha’s lawyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Antic has also sued the city in relation to the scrape. His case against the city is ongoing.
