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Andrew LopezESPN
Los Angeles police say New Orleans Pelicans center Jaxson Hayes resisted arrest and had to be subdued by Taser while officers were investigating a domestic violence call on Wednesday morning.
In a news release Thursday, police say Hayes was arrested under “California Penal Code section 69, Resisting Arrest,” which carries a stiffer penalty and includes using violence to try to prevent officers from doing their duties. A conviction on that charge could carry a maximum of three years in jail.
The Los Angeles Police Department says Hayes met officers, who were responding to the call, in the front yard of the residence. When officers informed Hayes they needed to speak with someone inside the residence, they say, he tried to prevent them from entering.
Footage from police body cameras reportedly shows Hayes trying to enter the residence despite warnings from officers. As he continued to push forward, officers called for backup and tried to place Hayes’ hands behind his back.
Hayes broke free and pushed an officer into a wall.
The LAPD says that officers then used physical force to get Hayes to the ground and that, when he continued to struggle, officers used “two deployments of the Taser, as well as bodyweight and physical force.” Police say the altercation lasted two-and-a-half minutes before Hayes was handcuffed.
Hayes and one police officer were treated at a local hospital and released.
Hayes was booked on Wednesday and released after posting the $25,000 bail roughly two hours later. Police say a woman at the home where Hayes was arrested declined to cooperate with the officers’ investigation into the original domestic dispute call.
Since the officers responding to the call used force during the incident, a department supervisor not involved with the case was assigned to investigate the arrest. The LAPD says its force investigation division is now reviewing the incident because of “the possibility of force being applied to Hayes’ neck during the use of force.”
On Wednesday, the Pelicans said they were working with the NBA to look into the matter and had no further comment.
Hayes is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Jan. 24, 2022.