Terence Crawford was celebrated in his hometown of Omaha, Nebraska on Saturday. Then, just hours later, the undisputed super middleweight champion found himself staring down the barrel of a gun.
Crawford, Uncrowned’s No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, was honored with a victory parade in Omaha on Saturday for his historic title upset over Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, which he won on Oct. 13 in their Netflix blockbuster. However, in the early hours of Sunday morning around 1:30 a.m., Crawford was pulled over in his vehicle by Omaha police and held at gunpoint alongside three other occupants.
Video footage has since been posted of the arrest.
Crawford can be seen exiting his car with both hands in the air. He was quickly searched and placed in cuffs. One of the occupants of the car can be heard telling officers, “I’m not reaching for no gun.”
The Omaha Police Department said in a statement that it pulled over Crawford’s vehicle for alleged reckless driving. The statement alleged that police observed a firearm in the car while speaking with Crawford and confirmed “all four occupants were ordered out of the vehicle at gunpoint.” A firearm was found on an occupant of the vehicle, who was a member of Crawford’s security team. The officers determined that everyone in the vehicle was legally allowed to carry a firearm. Crawford was cited for reckless driving.
Omaha mayor John Ewing Jr. said Sunday in an statement that his “heart dropped in learning of this end to an otherwise wonderful day and evening celebrating our city’s world boxing champion”:
The Omaha Police Department on Sunday reiterated Ewing’s statement that the department has “authorized an internal affairs investigation” into the incident.