Pay attention: Dale Davis was cleared of charges

by Matt Watson on Dec 2, 2006 11:35 AM EST

After a two-day trial, Dale Davis was acquitted of all five misdemeanor charges levied against him following an August 1 incident in Miami Beach.

Read that one more time.

Davis had the misfortune of being arrested and Tasered in the dog days of summer when there was little else to cature the attention of NBA fans. That, combined with the the fact that someone being Tasered is inherently funny in a twisted Jackass/Three Stooges/Tom & Jerry sort of way, resulted in everyone in the media (including myself) having a good deal of fun at his expense. It was wrong, and Davis should feel vindicated.

Beyond that, there's also the more serious issue of sensationalizing the arrest of a prominent athlete only to casually report the outcome of the trial. ((Davis already knows a little something about this: his movie production company filmed an entire movie about this type of thing.)) The notion that "all NBA players are thugs" is ill-conceived and unfair yet surprisingly common. For every headcase like Steven Jackson there's a dozen nice guys like Rip Hamilton, and for every high-profile headline that reports an arrest there isn't nearly enough attention paid to charitable works.

Granted, I don't find "so-and-so visited a school" stories very interesting myself, but what's fair is fair and the media should feel obligated to at least try to help a player clear his name with as much enthusiasm as they did when they reported the unfortunate events that muddied it.

Case in point: the Detroit News wrote 286 words on Davis to lead off their "Pistons: Notebook" this morning; the Free Press, 151 to lead off their "Pistons Corner"; and MLive just 86 at the bottom of their game recap. Maybe (hopefully) those papers intend to devote more space to Davis in the future, but if not, a brief mention in part of a larger article on a weekend hardly does the man justice.

In any event, what's important is that Davis was cleared of any wrongdoing. From the Freep:

Surveillance tape from the incident that took place in the Miami Beach Marriott -- obtained by Davis' defense attorney, Scott Kotler -- was key evidence during the trial.

"I truly believe one particular officer was baiting him, and as soon as Dale got under his skin, he Tasered him and that put them in a real predicament," Kotler said. "They had an issue because he was an NBA basketball player and they had just used 50,000 volts on him. The officer had to legitimize what he did and then all the charges came raining down. ... I used the video to basically set up my whole defense."

Davis could file a civil suit against the arresting officers, but Kotler said he didn't know Davis's plans.

In the Detroit News, Kotler said:

"The Miami Beach police are known for having a very low tolerance level for things, you challenge their authority and they take action. They're a little edgy."

For what it's worth, Kotler's account sounds awfully similar to what a commenter named Ed said right here on this site back in August:

Here’s the real skinny on what happened and this is coming from someone who knows Dale and his family since childhood. I all boils down to a misunderstanding about a room key, over-sensitive security at the hotel and a smart mouthed white cop who makes insulting comments and then hides behind the badge when Dale responded. Too many black people hanging out on South Beach these days has brought out the racism in the populace. Notice that the same thing happened to Gilbert Arenas and the Cincinnati Bengals player all within the last month and all along the same stretch of South Beach.

Especially now, Ed's comments sound like they might ring true, and I'm not at all surprised that someone in the know might have found his way to the site considering where DBB site ranks in the search engines on the subject. In any event, this chapter of Davis' life is closed, unless he pursues the civil suit, which I'd personally consider had I been the one stuck with a stun gun.

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One of the things that makes readers cynical about the media can be found in the Associated Press follow-up story on Dale’s acquittal.

One paragraph described his being found innocent on all counts … then SIX paragraphs (doubtless cribbed from the previous story) conclude the story with quotes from the police report, in which Davis sounds like John Dillinger and Nat Turner all rolled up in one. Yet we know there was surveillance footage that must have put the lie to that very same police report. So why run a story that makes someone found innocent sound guilty again? Plain laziness, I’d bet. No one dug for any extra details. They just went to the old story and did a little cut-and-paste. Which is bull.

I used to write for a newspaper. They know how to skate on the thin ice of defamation very well. A shame they don’t put the same thought into getting the story right.

by LanierFan on Dec 2, 2006 5:16 PM EST reply actions

I think this is a great opportunity for David Stern to make an example of this. Give it some publicity to show that NBA players have a bad rap.

by Tim on Dec 2, 2006 6:14 PM EST reply actions

Nice post. It’s nice to hear someone finally stick up for NBA players and not assume that they’re all thugs.

by Graham on Dec 3, 2006 9:13 AM EST reply actions

well done. maybe i am biased but i could not agree with you more. example. i was getting calls from a writer for sports illustrated. for now i will withold his name. he would call me all the time wanting to know the details and status of the proceedings. as the trial started and ended with dale’s not guilty verdict, i never heard from him again. he dropped the ball. he should have been all over this. i am still scratching my head. i am not out for publicity or to make a name. i truly believe that dale got the short end of the stick…or shall i say a taser gun. obviously the jury agreed..scott kotler..trial cousel.

by scott kotler on Dec 12, 2006 9:03 AM EST reply actions

MANY BLESSINGS TO ALL OF YOU WHO EITHER READS THIS OR NOT. I AM GETTING BACK AT FROM WHAT I READ ON MR. DAVIS AND THE INFO OF WHAY HAD HAPPENED, PERSONNALY BEING ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COAST I WAS ONLY ABLE TO LISTEN AND READ SO-MUCH. NOW ON THE DATE 12/6/06 I WAS WATCHING QUITE FRANKLY/STEPHEN A SMITH DURING THEIR EPISODE THEY WERE DISCUSING ABOUT WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO MR. DAVIS AND INFO ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN MIAMI WITH THE POLICE. NOW FROM ALL OF WHAT I HEARD THAT NIGHT ON THAT CONVERSATION FOR MYSELF IT HAD GOT ME MOTIVATED BASED ON WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME THE DATE 3/10/06 AS I AM AT MY CHURCH READY TO GO TO SERVICE, NOW AROUND 6:40 AND 6:50 NOW BEFORE I MOVE ON I NEED TO MENTION THAT I DEAL WITH EPILEPSY, NOW BACK TO MY SO CALLED GOING TO HAVE A WONDERFUL SERVICEAS I GET A FEW STEPS TO THE DOOR I END UP PASSING OUT AND AS I DO THAT NO ONE WAS AROUND AFTER A FEW MINUTES A POLICE OFFICER TAKES MY ARM AND TAKES ME TO A TEMPLE OF THE CHURCH TO SIT ME IN ONE OF THE MANY CHAIRS,AS I SIT DOWN I MENTION TO HIM THAT I AM FINE BUT HE JUST WALK AWAY TO MY RIGHT SIDE ABOUT 6 TO 8 YARDS AWAY, NOW WITHIN THIS TIME AS I THEM I AM FINE CAN I GO TO CHURCH NOW. WITHIN SECONDS I GET TAZARD AND FALL EROM MY CHAIR,AS I GET UP I THINK TO MYSELF WHAT THE HELL, SO I SEE MY WATERBOTTLE THAT WAS RIGHT NEXT TO ME AND I TRIED TO TROW IT AT THEM IT NEVER REACHED, THEN ONCE AGAIN THEY OF THE THE THREE REPEAT THE SAME THING, NOW FROM THIS CASE WHICH NEEDS TO BE I HAVE ANOTHER SITUATION THAT HAPPENED TO ME LATER IN THE YEAR BUT FOR RIGHT NOW I WILL LEAVE IT AT THAT, IT IS JUST AS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO LET SOMEONE KNOW , HE OR SHE , MAYBE EVEN BOTH AND FOR WHOEVER READS THIS IT IS NOT A HA-HA HEE-HEE ITS REALITY, JUST HOPING THAT NEXT TIME WHEN AND IF YOUR ON TO SERVICE WILL THIS HAPPEN TO YOU,AND NO I DO NOT APPROVE.
ALL IN ALL I DO NOT HAVE DONALD TRUMP MONEY OR SOMEONE WHO IS FAMOUS, AS WELL AS ME TRYING TO GET THAT WAY , I AM JUST TRYING TO LIVE MY ALREADY CUATIONFUL LIFE WHICH GOES IF I CAN LIVE IT. BASED ON WHAT I HAVED TRYED DOING SO FOR SEEMS TO BE NOTHING AT ALL, BUT KNOW I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE MY LIFE GETTING HARRASED WHEREVER I GO.
FIRST AND FOR MOST THANK YOU FOR READING PUS ANY TYPE OF INFO COULD COME MY WAY MANY BLESSINS TO, BECAUSE AS MUCH AS I HAVE BEEN TRYING,FOR THOSE WHO READ THIS AND YOU HAVE YOURSELF A 9 TO 5. I WOULD LOVE TO BE IN THOSE SHOES.

I HOPE MR. DAVIS MAKES A LAWSUIT,UNTIL THEN MANY BLESSINGS TO YOU AND YOURS.

by A VICTIM [STILL TRYING TO BELIEVE I STILLHAVE RIGHTS] on Dec 16, 2006 6:41 PM EST reply actions