Press Interpreter

11/10/05 -- SÃO PAULO - The ex-boxer Mike Tyson was charged with assault and battery after attacking a cameraman in a São Paulo nightclub early Thursday morning. At police headquarters, Tyson, the former boxing world champion, admitted the assault on cameraman Carlos Melo, of SBT*, and explained that he had asked photographers not to take any pictures. He will make a court appearance on Friday to receive his sentence, which could be a charitable donation, performance of community service, or payment of a fine.

The assault occurred around 2:00 Thursday morning, when Tyson had a misunderstanding with the cameraman in a nightclub in Moema, in the Southern Zone (Zona Sul). When he saw that pictures were being taken, Tyson jumped on the cameraman, grabbed the camera, knocked Carlos Melo to the ground and then hit him in the head, and tore the film out of the camera.

According to the cameraman, who does not speak English, Tyson hung around for about five minutes screaming and shouting, but he didn't touch him [the cameraman] again. Melo also said that Tyson had the chance to attack him several more times. After the scuffle, the fighter left the nightclub in a taxi and the cameraman went to report the incident at a southern zone police station.

Tyson went to another nightclub in the República region of downtown São Paulo. The Military Police stopped by the club and explained that the ex-fighter would have to come to police headquarters for questioning. According to the police, he didn't resist and was taken to the 3rd District (station), in the heart of town, in the car of the owner of the nightclub where the scuffle took place.

As the cameraman had reported the incident in a police station in the southern zone, the ex-fighter was [also] taken there. Mike Tyson was not handcuffed and never stepped into a police car.

He was twice accosted by journalists, but he showed no reaction, nor did he want to speak with the press. The cameraman suffered no injuries and continues to give testimony.

[Full Article]

* SBT is Brazil's second-largest television network, based in São Paulo. The initials stand for Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão - the Brazilian Television System.

[This article appeared in O Globo, a Portuguese-language Brazilian daily based in Rio de Janeiro.]

--Translated By Chris Drake

Go to original article:

http://oglobo.globo.com/online/plantao/189107517.asp