American swimmer James Feigen was seen at a court house in Rio de Janeiro Friday amid claims he and three other teammates were robbed after a late night of partying.
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Anonymous police officials have said Feigen and three other swimmers were not held up at gunpoint early Sunday, as USA swimmer Ryan Lochte said in TV interviews. “They did not make any untruthful testimony”.
The statement by USOC is at odds with what Ryan Lochte told reporters about the evening in question – namely that two men pulled the taxi over and brandishing a gun forced them out of the auto and onto the ground.
According to ESPN.com, the two-time Olympic medalist’s lawyer said he agreed to pay $10,800 and will be permitted to leave Brazil.
Under Brazilian law, donations can be made to avoid charges for minor offenses.
Announcing that two swimmers have now flown out of a Rio airport after being detained by police, U.S. Olympic Committee CEO Scott Blackmun is apologizing for how the pair and two other swimmers behaved in Brazil.
IOC disciplinary commissions have the power to issue sanctions, but it is an entity separate from the U.S. Olympic Committee, USA Swimming and FINA, the worldwide governing body for swimming.
It said it would further review the incident and assess any potential consequences for the athletes.
Police said the swimmers had been unable to provide key details in early interviews, saying they had been intoxicated.
A station employee called police, but the athletes wanted to leave so paid 100 Brazilian reals (about United States $33) and $20 in USA currency and left, Veloso said.
“No robbery was committed against these athletes”, Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso said in a news conference.
Staff at the gas station said on Thursday that the US swimmers ripped an advertising plaque off a wall and urinated against the building. The statement was released after Lochte told media outlets the group was robbed after the last Olympic swimming event.
The stories, however, seem to diverge at a single point – when Lochte re-entered a taxi after stopping at the station. Bentz and Conger answered questions for several hours at a Rio police station Thursday before flying out.
A video shows no robbery took place, Veloso said.
“They arrived [at the athletes village] with their psychological and physical integrity unperturbed”, she wrote, adding they did not appear to be upset after what was likely to have been a traumatic experience.Investigators would look into whether they are guilty of filing a false police report, she wrote. “They did not go to the police station and they were not told to appear at the police station”, Riera said. His laywer declined to comment to PEOPLE, but told ABC News in a statement that “a gun was pointed at the swimmers and they were forced to get out of their cab and give up their money”.
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The four men originally claimed that they had been returning to the Olympic Village from a party when they were pulled over and robbed.
