Taser Used To Break Up Fight Between Pro Athletes
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – The two professional athletes that were arrested outside of a South Beach nightclub have been bonded out of jail but have yet to make any public comments.
Jo-Lonn Dunbar and Donte Greene were arrested outside of Dream Nightclub early Sunday morning on charges of battery and disorderly conduct after getting in a physical altercation while exiting the club.
Dunbar is a six-year veteran of the National Football League and currently plays for the St. Louis Rams.
Greene is a former first-round draft pick who is trying to make a comeback into the NBA after playing out of the league for the last two seasons.
According to the Miami Beach Police Department the two men were arguing as they exited Dream Nightclub at approximately 5:20 A.M.
Club security tried to keep Dunbar and Greene apart and one of the players started walking away with a group of friends as a couple Miami Beach Police Officers in full uniforms stood by.
The verbal insults continued and security was unable to hold back the group that stayed by the club exit. The group chased down the others and a large scale brawl ensued that had several of the people involved exchanging punches.
Ignoring orders from police to stop, Greene came up behind Dunbar and started punching him in the head and neck area. Greene was told by police that if he didn't stop an officer would use his Taser, but ignored the warning.
An officer then proceeded to fire his Taser at Greene, striking him in the lower back and buttocks. Police said after the others saw Greene hit by the Taser, the fight quickly ended.
According to Miami Beach P.D., Greene later apologized for his actions, saying "I'm sorry officer but this guy [Dunbar] has been after me for years since I got into the NBA. He was beating my brother and I had to do what I did."
Dunbar claimed that he was just defending himself. The Rams released the following statement when reached for comment:
"We are aware of alleged incident involving JoLonn Dunbar and are still gathering information. Per team policy, we will have no further comment until the matter is resolved."
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Joe Corvena works security at a strip club across Washington Avenue from Dream Night Club. He says he saw Dunbar exiting the night club around 5 a.m. Sunday.
"[Dunbar] started coming out of the doorway of Dream screaming, looking for somebody," said Corvena. "He was held back by some of his friends. When they got in front of the sushi place is when all hell broke loose. They just started fist-fighting…swinging. That's when the police officers took out their tasers."
Dunbar came into the league as an undrafted free-agent in 2008 and played the first four years of his career with the New Orleans Saints. After signing with the St. Louis Rams in 2012 Dunbar had his best season as a pro, starting all 16 games. He was suspended for the first four games of the 2013 season after violating the NFL's policy on performance-enhancing substances.
Greene was selected in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies. He has played in 253 games during his NBA career, all with the Sacramento Kings, but none since 2012. Greene is attempting an NBA comeback after playing last season in China.
Most recently Greene had been playing for the Brooklyn Nets during the NBA's Summer League, averaging 9.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.8 assists in five appearances.
Both players have ties to Syracuse, New York. Dunbar was born and raised in Syracuse and played football for local Corcoran High School. Greene played college basketball for Syracuse University.
Click here to read CBS Miami's original report.
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