“There was no robbery as the swimmers described it”, Rio’s civil police chief, Fernando Veloso, told a news conference on Thursday, adding that it would be noble and dignified if the swimmers were to apologise to the people of Rio. As far as Brazilian police are concerned, Lochte is lying.
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A statement posted on Facebook said the decision was made in a court appearance to answer police accusations that Feigen and fellow swimmer Ryan Lochte had made false claims that they were robbed. The Rio Games end Sunday.
“The story did have some sense of validity but it didn’t bear out and it made them look bad worldwide”, he said.
Police concluded that the only crimes committed were by Lochte and his cronies. Either one or all of them vandalized a gas station, which initiated a confrontation with security guards, Veloso said.
He claimed one or more of the athletes had damaged a toilet at the petrol station and offered to pay for repairs.
“The surveillance tapes show that there was no violence against the athletes at the gas station”, Veloso said. Police have said they are considering charges of falsely reporting a crime and destruction of property, both of which can carry up to six months in jail or a fine.
Ryan Lochte on Friday apologized for his “behavior” at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics after Brazilian authorities said the USA swimmer made up a story about being robbed at gunpoint in the city.
Some say the swimmers are being honest about certain aspects of the story.
It sounds like Lochte and his teammates lied for a lot of reasons, but I’m not sure why having sexual encounters with women would be one of them.
The statement made no mention of Police Chief Fernando Veloso’s contention that off-duty police officers working as security guards had been the ones who’d pointed a gun at the drunken USA swimmers when they tried to flee after vandalizing a gas station bathroom.
In the course of their cooperation with cops, Bentz or Conger fingered the six-time gold medal victor as the author of the ever-changing lie, according to Brazilian newspaper O Globo.
Soon the athletes were handing over money, although the sources did not say how much.
The saga began when Lochte said he, Conger, Bentz and Feigen were held at gunpoint and robbed several hours after the last Olympic swimming races ended Saturday night.
Lochte, 32, had claimed a man posing as a police officer robbed him and his teammates while they were coming back from a party in a taxi.
“I’ve got boys that age”, said Lee McNutt, a 61-year-old Silicon Valley salesman returning from the Games.
“The guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and he said, ‘Get down, ‘” Lochte recounted.
NBC’s Matt Lauer said Wednesday that Lochte recanted that part of it in a conversation the two had.
Lochte, who won gold for the 4200m freestyle relay with Michael Phelps, Conor Dwyer and Townley Haas, said: “I am very proud to represent my country in the Olympic competition and this was a situation that could and should have been avoided”.
Ostrow insisted his client was still a “victim”.
Police said that witnesses were initially afraid to speak to police because of the possibility of retaliation from the high-profile foreign athletes involved. The swimmers left some money and then returned to the Olympic Village.
The conflicting stories prompted a Brazilian judge to issue warrants for the seizure of the Americans’ passports so they couldn’t leave the country before they were questioned. Their passports were ordered seized so the investigation could continue, but Lochte had already left the country.
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“The behavior of four athletes on the team should not take away the excellence of 40 others on the team”, he said.
