Boxing Champion Terence Crawford Held At Gunpoint!
Boxing Champion Terence Crawford Held At Gunpoint!
At this point, the aggression people of color receive from law enforcement has become normalized. At any time, whether you comply or not, you can assume you will be not be treated with respect and decency. Unfortunately, this was a reality for undisuted boxing champion Terence “Bud” Crawford.
Crawford was in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska celebrating his historic win against Canelo Alvarez, making him a 3-time undisputed world champion, holding welterweight and super middleweight titles. The city that raised him up and shows him so much love and respect made sure to honor “Bud” with an entire parade to celebrate his excellence and recent victory. However, shortly after the joyful event, Crawford found himself in an intense exchange with Omaha police.
Video evidence seemingly coming from inside the vehicle shows the champ being interrogated and forced out of his car at gunpoint during a traffic stop. It is clear in the footage, Crawford is intentionally making sure to keep his hands visible to law enforcement as he removes his seatbelt and exits the car.
You can even hear Crawford in the video communicating with the officer, “I ain’t reaching for no gun.”
According to the Omaha Police Department (OPD), officers spotted a vehicle driving recklessly around 1:30am which caused officers to pull the vehicle over. OPD claims while speaking with Crawford, a firearm was spotted on the floorboard and as a result, “For safety, all four occupants were ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint,” the department said in a statement.
Crawford requested at a police supervisor and lieutenant be called to the scene while he and his passengers were all patted down; however, it was determined that all occupants were legally licensed to carry firearms. The incident has escalated to the mayor’s office resulting in the mayor and police chief ordering a review with internal affairs.
The incident has also gone further up the ladder to the Mayor’s Office. Omaha Mayor John Ewing made a statement on Facebook saying, “I learned Omaha police pulled over Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford on a traffic stop downtown early this morning. After learning of this, I spoke personally to Bud Crawford. I acknowledge the seriousness of what occurred and how trust between law enforcement and our community is important and shows the need to be continuously vigilant about building relationships.”
He went on to say, “Understand that my heart dropped in learning of this end to an otherwise wonderful day and evening celebrating our city’s world boxing champion. We held a great parade and great event at Heartland of America park. The evening birthday party at Steelhouse, which I and members of my team attended, was a showing of joy and pride. Omaha needs to remember this important day as a good one while we seek answers to how it ended.”
Crawford has yet to comment on the situation, but we will follow the story in the coming days.
Check out the livestream from the Crawford celebratory parade below.
Source: Complex, YouTube, Sports Illustrated
