Dennis Schroder was shocked by his muscle-bound arrest by Los Angeles police

In a context rekindled by the lynching of Tire Nichols by five police officers, Dennis Schroder He’s not going to forget the misery he experienced after Tuesday’s meeting between the Lakers and the Spurs,

The German leader also had to deal with the muscular methods of the Californian police. Fortunately, though the tension quickly subsided, Dennis Schroeder was shocked by the exchange, and particularly by the aggressiveness of the police, who were suspected of stealing the Sprinter van he was driving. It was actually a license plate error that didn’t match the correct vehicle…

“It happened after the match. I put on my recovery boots for my treatment and we started rolling. I was watching Uncle Charlie as usual and Alex was driving. So we started driving and heard sirens and saw blue lights. We thought they just wanted to pass us by. But there was a voice saying, “Please go through the next exit and stop. Alex opened the window separating us to let us know we were under arrest. So I said, “OK, do whatever they say, we won’t have any problems.” They then asked Alex to get out of the car without making any sudden movements. Then the big torches lit up the Sprinter to see who was behind it. I was in my Normatec system, so I wore it very slowly so they wouldn’t see me moving. I slowly removed the Normatec to wear pants because I do my treatment without them. Then someone said, “hey, I see you there, don’t hide,” and he asked me to come out. I finished dressing and slowly opened the door.

Handcuffed and stocked on the sidewalk

That’s when things almost turned sour, as Dennis Schroder quickly found himself surrounded by handcuffed and armed officers. Something to destabilize, especially when you’re sure it’s about you.

“They told me: ‘Turn your back to us and approach slowly.’ So I had to turn around and walk towards them, doing all this with my hands above my head. Of course, I did what they told me and followed their instructions. As soon as I got close enough to them, they put their hands behind my back and handcuffed me very aggressively. I didn’t understand what happened. Then they told me that the car was stolen, not mine. I answered that no, there is a mistake, it is my car. But the license plate was from a Cadillac. Then I said that Cadillac is my car, I sold it a year ago.”

Fortunately, Dennis Schroder did not rebel and the situation calmed down later, but the player is remembered for this exchange.

“Believe it or not, there were at least 30 police cars at the end, police armed with pistols, Uzis and whatnot. It was like I was a criminal who had done something, it was crazy. I have never seen anything like it. Alex even had to lie on the floor, face down, legs and arms spread. It was crazy. I even went out with my socks on because I thought they would let me wear them later. Five minutes later, when they asked about me, I just said I was from the Lakers game where we beat the Spurs. Then they realized the mistake and everything went back to normal (…). Fortunately, nothing happened to anyone and we managed to get home safely.”

The story also reminds Lived by Boris Diaw During an equally muscular intervention by Michigan police in 2005.