INDIANAPOLIS -- Stephen Jackson of the Indiana
Pacers fired a gun in the air, apparently in self-defense,
outside a strip club early Friday after he was slugged in the mouth and
struck by a car that sent him tumbling onto the hood, police said.
There were no reports of anyone hit by gunfire. Jackson was limping but
refused medical treatment at the scene, police spokesman Sgt. Matthew
Mount said. Jackson conferred with a team trainer and sought treatment
at a hospital.
Pacers chief executive Donnie Walsh said Jackson was out of the hospital
and had no serious injuries, but was banged up.
Officers found a small amount of marijuana in the passenger side door of
Pacer point guard Jamaal Tinsley's car, police said. Officers could not
determine the car's driver or to whom the marijuana belonged, so no
arrests were made.
Police were looking for the car that struck Jackson and three men
believed involved. Jackson was at the Indianapolis club with teammates
Tinsley, Marquis Daniels and Jimmie Hunter, police said.
Police say Stephen Jackson was limping after a strip club altercation.
(Getty Images)
Jackson told officers he fired his 9mm pistol five times after he was
hit in the mouth and tossed on the hood of the car, Mount said.
Walsh said the team was trying to determine exactly what happened. Coach
Rick Carlisle declined comment Friday, and calls by the Associated Press
to team president Larry Bird weren't immediately returned. Jackson's
agent, Dan Fegan, said he had not spoken to Jackson.
The Pacers said Friday that all involved are cooperating with police,
and none of the players at the strip club would be available to the
media after practice Friday.
"Since this is an ongoing review of the matters that took place Friday
morning, the Pacers will have no further comment at this time," the team
said in a statement.
The NBA's drug policy says players who test positive for marijuana face
rehabilitation, fines and suspensions, depending on whether it is a
first offense. Testing is done randomly throughout the season and for
reasonable cause.
League spokesman Tim Frank declined to comment but said the NBA was
monitoring the situation.
The mayhem began with an argument inside Club Rio involving patrons and
players, Mount said. The players said they left the club, but the
patrons followed them.
"At some point when leaving the club, a verbal altercation ensued ...
that turned into a physical altercation," Mount said.
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