Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson was arrested after being involved in an airport scuffle with a paparazzi photographer. The photographer is speaking out and telling his side of the story.
Photographer That Got Lumped Up By Mike Tyson Speaks Out
The celebrity photographer who had a scuffle with Mike Tyson at a Los Angeles airport terminal said he kept a “respectful” distance as he followed the former boxing champ and his family.
“If you see the tape, it says it all,” Tony Echevarria said Thursday.
Both Tyson, 43, and the 50-year-old freelance member of the paparazzi were booked on misdemeanor battery charges based on complaints each filed against the other, according to airport police Sgt. Jim Holcomb.
Tyson and Echevarria were both released on signature bonds Wednesday night, Holcomb said.
It was not immediately clear if the arrest would affect Tyson’s probation on cocaine and drunken driving convictions in Arizona two years ago.
Echevarria, who suffered cuts and bruises on his head that sent him to a hospital, told celebrity gossip Web site TMZ that his video camera was destroyed when Tyson smashed it to the ground.
Los Angeles police seized the video and camera as evidence, Holcomb said.
Echevarria said he followed Tyson’s entourage, which included his wife and 10-month-old daughter, as they took a long walk through Los Angeles International Airport after arriving on a flight from London, England.
Tyson didn’t appear bothered at first, the photographer told TMZ. The trouble started when they arrived at the United Airlines ticket counter and Tyson had trouble finding a toilet, he said.
“I wasn’t aggressive,” Echevarria said. “I was shooting at a distance and it was respectful.”
Tyson grabbed him and threw at least four punches “that I know of,” he said. “When blood is gushing, you lose count.”
Echevarria was booked on a battery charge, after he was released from a hospital emergency room, because Tyson accused the photographer of battery, Holcomb said.
Phone calls and an e-mail to Tyson’s publicist requesting a response have not been returned.
Tyson was calm and cooperative when he was detained by airport police, Holcomb said. [source]
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