Los Angeles Clippers forward Matt Barnes used a homophobic slur at a police officer during his arrest in late July.
The police dashboard video, which was obtained by TMZ.com, shows Barnes waiting on the side of the road with his wife in the presence of a couple of Manhattan Beach (Calif.) police officers. Much of the video shows his wife asking the police officers repeatedly why they have been detained. After a lengthy argument, an officer tells Barnes that there is a warrant for his arrest.
As officers pull Barnes’ hands out of his pockets, he tells one not to touch him, but they do put handcuffs on him. As they start to walk him away, Barnes says: “You’re the f—— f—– who followed me.”
Barnes was arrested on suspicion of threatening a police officer. He had an outstanding traffic warrant after being stopped twice before that incident and being cited for driving without a license.
Barnes issued an apology that was run on TMZ.com.
“I would like to apologize for the unfortunate language I used,” he said. “I know that certain words are extremely hurtful.
“I meant absolutely no disrespect to anyone. This comment, spoken in the heat of a difficult moment, does not accurately reflect my actual point of view.”
Barnes’ reference during his arrest to being followed likely stemmed from his contention that the same police officer who had ticketed him before waited hours for him to leave a restaurant to arrest him the third time.
“I couldn’t believe it was the same guy,” Barnes told ESPN The Magazine after his arrest.
The Manhattan Beach police department denied that Barnes was specifically targeted.
“If Mr. Barnes has an arrest warrant and chooses to come into the city the onus is on him,” officer Stephanie Martin, a Manhattan Beach PD spokesperson, told ESPN The Magazine. “This is a small town and we’re aware of many individuals who have warrants.”
Barnes was the Lakers’ top-scoring reserve last season, averaging 7.8 points per game. He signed with the Clippers in the offseason.
