Las Vegas Police: Bennett running away prompted officers to stop him

(Warning: Story contains coarse language)

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department stated Wednesday that its decision to detain Michael Bennett on Aug. 26 was prompted by the Seattle Seahawks defensive end's actions in running from a casino, according to Gregg Bell of The News Tribune.

Bennett was in Las Vegas to attend the Floyd Mayweather-Conor McGregor fight and alleged that police used excessive force while detaining him. The Seahawks' star said he heard noises that resembled gun shots, which prompted him to flee the hotel.

Police stated that the arresting officer did not have his body camera on him during the time of Bennett's detainment.

"Many of the folks today have called this an incident of bias-based policing, police officers focusing solely on the race of an individual that they're going to stop," Las Vegas Police Department undersheriff Kevin McMahill said via Kevin Spain of USA TODAY. "I can tell you as I stand here today, I see no evidence of that. I see no evidence that race played any role in this incident."

TMZ Sports obtained a video of Bennett's detainment, however, where the defensive end is heard yelling "I wasn't doing nothing, man! I was here with my friends. They told us to get out, everybody ran!"

The department also said they have 126 videos to review in regards to the Bennett incident.

Bennett released his statement Wednesday and is considering legal action, alleging that officers threatened to "blow (his) fucking head off."

NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and NFL commissioner Roger Goodell both released statements in support of Bennett, joining several others in the football community that were appalled by the way he was treated.