A Brazilian police official says American swimmer Ryan Lochte made up a story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro.
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“We got pulled over, in the taxi, and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge, no lights, no nothing just a police badge and they pulled us over”, Lochte told NBC’s “Today” the morning after the incident. But he said the athletes wanted to leave, so they paid 100 Brazilian reals (about United States $33) and $20 in USA currency and left.
Instead of being pulled over by the men, Lochte said the swimmers stopped at a gas station to go to the bathroom when the robbers showed up. The whereabouts of the other swimmers were not immediately clear.
According to the Associated Press, the robbery that was or wasn’t has become the biggest spectacle outside of the Olympic venues in Rio, and given American Olympians a black eye in Brazil after an otherwise remarkable run at the Summer Games. Lochte first lied about the robbery to his mother, Ileana Lochte, who spoke with reporters, the police official said.
“No robbery was committed against these athletes”. Lochte also said the assailant pointed a gun at him rather than putting it to his head.
It’s a story that had the UGA campus buzzing Thursday.
ABC News is reporting the Federal Police of Brazil has indicted the two swimmers.
Brazil’s Presidential Chief of Staff, Eliseu Padilha, chimed in, saying the swimmers should be held accountable. GloboNews reported that police were recommending prosecutors charge Lochte and Feigen with falsely reporting a crime. He told police the actions of the security guard were not excessive.
Staff at the Shell station said on Thursday that the US swimmers ripped an advertising plaque off a wall while they urinated on a wall.
Bentz and Conger “were heard only as witnesses”. They had testified about the incident earlier in the day, and Brazilians chanted “liar” as they left the police building. The pair had tried to leave Brazil on Wednesday but were pulled off their flight. Their lawyer, Sergio Riera, hugged them before they walked through customs.
The news comes after Brazilian investigators claimed Lochte fabricated his story about being robbed in Rio after there was damage done to a bathroom door in a local gas station. According to Lochte’s account, $400 was stolen from them.
Veloso admitted, however, that during the confrontation, at least one security guard pointed a gun at the swimmers, one of whom was acting belligerently. “Once they were calm, the gun was lowered.”… Presumably that’s a security guard.
An incident at a gas station is part of the overall tapestry too. Security was called and an argument ensued, said one employee who declined to give his name.
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The closed-circuit video shows one of the swimmers pulling a sign off of a wall and dropping it onto the ground. Later, Lochte altered his story, saying the group wasn’t pulled over, but that they were robbed when the taxi made a stop at a gas station so they could use the restroom after a night of partying. “They competed under enormous pressure”.
