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Pero Antic: Those 'involved in that (Sefolosha) case give police a bad reputation'

REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Former Atlanta Hawks center Pero Antic was more than happy to testify in support of former teammate Thabo Sefolosha in regards to an incident with the NYPD.

Antic, who now plays in Turkey, accompanied Sefolosha on Apr. 8 when the two Hawks players were arrested on charges of obstruction and disorderly conduct following the stabbing of Chris Copeland, who now plays for the Milwaukee Bucks.

The incident left Sefolosha with a broken leg, of which Sefolosha attributes to extensive force on the part of NYPD officers.

Charges against Antic were dropped, but Sefolosha turned down a conditional dismissal and challenged the NYPD in court. Sefolosha was acquitted of all charges on Friday.

Antic shared his thoughts on the court's decision with Erik Horne of NewsOK.

"That was never supposed to happen," Antic said of Sefolosha's arrest and injury. "Two days ago, the police officers that did that, they knew that the case wasn't going to be on their side. They weren't even man enough to say 'hello' or just say 'we're sorry it happened.' ... Police, they're doing their job, but individuals involved in that case give police a bad reputation.

"It wasn't justice what they did to him that day," Antic added.

For that, the 31-year-old was happy to defend his former teammate.

"I was sure when I told him 'I will be here, I will testify for you, I will testify the truth.' ... Even the prosecutor tried to turn the story three times to ask the same question. I told them, 'Excuse me, you have to work a little harder. I told you the story three times. I can repeat it to you 10 more times if you want, nothing is going to change. I don't lie," Antic said.

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