Emerson Phillips
The San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that it will not file criminal charges against Mike Tyson for punching a fellow first-class passenger aboard a plane at San Francisco International Airport last month.
Prosecutors have closed the case and decided against pursuing charges based on “the circumstances surrounding the confrontation.”
“These include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in this case,” District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe said in a statement.
Videos by Rare
Representatives for Tyson previously said the boxer was on a flight with “an aggressive passenger who began harassing him and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat.”
Prior to the physical altercation – which was caught on video and shared with TMZ – the other passenger is seen on the video standing over Tyson’s seat waving his arms and talking animatedly while the former boxer sits quietly.
The video shows Tyson leaning over the back of his seat repeatedly striking the unidentified man in the head, drawing blood.
Another passenger on the flight, Sarah Burchfield, told SFGate that she had seen the man who Tyson punched at an airport bar earlier appearing loud and quarrelsome.
“When I boarded the flight, I thought, ‘Oh, no, that drunk guy is on our flight,’” Burchfield said.
Police previously said that the victim had provided few details about the altercation and refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Tyson, 55, was in San Francisco in April for the annual 420 cannabis festival in Golden Gate Park, where he was promoting his cannabis brand Tyson 2.0, SFGate reported. The incident occurred on a Jet Blue plane bound for Miami.
Attorneys for Tyson praised the district attorney’s decision in a statement on Tuesday, thanking law enforcement for “careful, diligent and professional work.
