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Report: NYPD Internal Affairs wants to interview Hawks' Thabo Sefolosha

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

The Internal Affairs Bureau of the New York Police Department has reached out to counsel for Thabo Sefolosha about interviewing the Atlanta Hawks' forward, who is a complaining witness in a police incident which occurred last week, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.

Sefolosha was arrested overnight Tuesday in Manhattan's Chelsea district. According to the police report, officer Johnpaul Giacona stated Sefolosha was interfering with the establishment of a crime scene outside of a nightclub where Indiana Pacers forward Chris Copeland had been stabbed in a separate incident.

Videos released by TMZ late last week appear to contradict the officer's account of the incident.

One of the videos appears to show an officer swinging a baton at Sefolosha's lower body after several officers wrestled him to the ground. The location of the video, shot by a witness, also appears to be more than 100 feet from the site of the stabbing.

Sefolosha's complaint claims he was unlawfully injured by police at the scene.

"We are also investigating the tactics of the police in this case," Sefolosha's lawyer told ESPN on Tuesday.

The officers involved in the arrest have retained legal representation.

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