 SAO PAULO, Brazil Nov 10, 2005 — Mike Tyson was questioned by police early Thursday after a television cameraman accused the former heavyweight champion of assaulting him outside a nightclub.
Tyson was scheduled to appear in court Friday, where he could face charges of assault and destruction of property, police spokeswoman Kelly Pinheiro said.
The 39-year-old Tyson held a news conference Wednesday asking the Brazilian media not to approach him at night.
Carlos Eduardo da Silva, a cameraman with the Brazilian television network SBT ingnored those wishes and insistently tried filming him.
Carlos Eduardo da Silva told the police Tyson pushed him and threw his camera to the ground outside the club, then removed a videotape and put it in his pocket.
Later the cameraman changed his story and told he was hit on the head, but the police said he needed a medical test to prove it.
"We doubt he was hit because everyone knows Mike Tyson's punch and the reporter didn't seem to have a wound," district police chief Roberto Calassa said.
Police said Tyson acknowledged damaging the camera but denied pushing Silva. He was later released.
"He asked him to stop filming and he didn't stop. He got up, took the camera, destroyed the tape and damaged the equipment," district police chief Roberto Calassa said.
In august this year Mike Tyson was also accussed by a woman in Italy claiming she was assaulted.
After police investigation Mike Tyson turned out to be innocent and the accusation was proven slander.
Tyson came to Sao Paulo following a trip to Argentina, where he was interviewed by soccer great Diego Maradona on his late-night show.
Update: Mike Tyson was ordered Friday by a judge to return to Brazil in March 2006 to face trial for allegedly assaulting a cameraman in a nightclub.
If found guilty, the former heavyweight champion could be fined or sentenced to community service in Brazil.
A lawyer representing cameraman Carlos Eduardo da Silva told the news service that Silva wants to be compensated for R$ 1,000,000 (Brazilian Real) and in addition also plans to sue Tyson for damages in United States courts.
The cameraman contends Tyson broke his camera Thursday and hit him on the head with camera equipment. Tyson acknowledged breaking the camera and destroying the camera's tape after asking Silva to stop filming, but denies pushing or hitting the cameraman.
More quotes and images available in the extended section of this post (click 'Read More' below).
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson is escorted by Brazilian police into a police station in Sao Paulo, Brazil, for questioning early Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed for him by Diego Maradona, is driven into the garage of a Sao Paulo courthouse to appear before a judge, November 11, 2005. Tyson promised to appear before a judge to answer the cameraman's accusations of assault, after he destroyed the video tape made of him at the club.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed for him by Diego Maradona, is driven into the garage of a Sao Paulo courthouse to appear before a judge, November 11, 2005. Tyson promised to appear before a judge to answer the cameraman's accusations of assault, after he destroyed the video tape made of him at the club.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed for him by Diego Maradona, leaves his hotel for a Sao Paulo courthouse to appear before a judge, November 11, 2005. Tyson promised to appear before a judge to answer the cameraman's accusations of assault, after he destroyed the videotape made of him at the club.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed for him by Diego Maradona with the words, 'To Mike with Love, Diego,' leaves his hotel for a Sao Paulo courthouse to appear before a judge, November 11, 2005. Tyson promised to appear before a judge to answer the cameraman's accusations of assault, after he destroyed the video tape made of him at the club.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed for him by Diego Maradona, is driven to the garage of a Sao Paulo courthouse to appear before a judge, November 11, 2005. Tyson promised to appear before a judge to answer the cameraman's accusations of assault, after he destroyed the video tape made of him at the club.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson leaves a Sao Paulo hotel wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed by Diego Maradona on Friday, Nov. 11, 2005. Tyson was on his way to a court after a television cameraman accused Tyson of assaulting him outside a nightclub early Thursday.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson leaves a restaurant wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed by Diego Maradona that reads 'to Mike with love, Diego' in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2005. Tyson went to court Friday after a television cameraman accused Tyson of assaulting him outside a nightclub on early Thursday.
Cameramen follow former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson as he leaves a restaurant wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed by Diego Maradona in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2005. Tyson went to court today after a television cameraman accused Tyson of assaulting him outside a nightclub on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005.
Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, center, signs an autograph to a fan as he leaves a restaurant wearing an Argentine national soccer jersey autographed by Diego Maradona that reads 'to Mike with love, Diego' in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, Nov. 11, 2005. Tyson went to court today after a television cameraman accused Tyson of assaulting him outside a nightclub on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2005.
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