Pro athletes have been known to exhibit some head-scratching behavior as it pertains to run-ins with the law, but NBA player Cameron Payne takes the cake.
New footage has emerged of Payne’s arrest, which the police officers described as the “dumbest way possible” to be taken to jail.
Why Did Cameron Payne Call Police And Get Arrested At His Own Home?
The 30-year-old veteran, who signed with the New York Knicks in the offseason, reportedly got into an argument with his girlfriend around June 14 and he called the police to his residence In Scottsdale, Arizona.
So how did Payne end up being the person arrested?
Reportedly, when the officers arrived, tensions were high and there was an exchange between Payne and the officers, who were increasingly perplexed by the ordeal. The encounter was captured in bodycam footage released by the Scottsdale Police Department this week.
As often happens in these situations, when the cops arrived after responding to Payne’s 911 call, the NBA journeyman downplays the call and tells them that he and his girlfriend ”just had a disagreement, going back and forth.”
Why Did Payne Start Arguing With Police That He Called To His Residence ?
According to Payne, the disagreement wasn’t violent and he seemed to want the officers to leave.
At that point the situation is in the hands of the police. Why Payne called them in the first place is puzzling and also very rare. According to statistics by acrosswalks.org only about 25 percent of the persons whom U.S. police judge to be victims in domestic-violence incidents are men.
Once the police officer started asking questions and trying to gain some details about what prompted the call, the other officer decides to enter the property to talk with Payne’s girlfriend.
Everything seemed routine until Payne refused to disclose his name. That’s when the conversation became more confrontational with Payton claiming that he’d “rather not” give his name to the officers that he called to the house.
Cameron Payne Gives Police False Name
The cop tried to explain to Payne that in domestic violence calls they are required by law to get the correct names and personal details of the parties involved.
The police tried to threaten Payne into giving up his name.
“You can do that, but you’d rather not. Doing that would mean I would have to place you under arrest,” the officer said.
The situation then went completely off the rails when Payne’s girlfriend intervenes as he’s still refusing to give up his ID and tells him to give police his alias.
After referring to him as Cameron, she tells him to “Just go by what you go by, Terry Johnson.”
Payne finally provided his alias, ”Terry Johnson,” as his name to the officer, who also requested his date of birth, which Payne reluctantly gave him. Payne said his birthday is January 1, 1998.
‘I’m going to check this because it kind of looks like you just made up a birthday,’ the officer responded.
Somehow Payne went from the victim to the perp in his own house because he clearly didn’t think this thing out when he made the call.
Cops Say Payne Is Dumbest Person They Ever Arrested
By now the situation elevated further when the officer entered the home to check on Paynes’ girlfriend and he started arguing with the police and demanded that the cop leaves the property.
The cops insisted on staying, explaining to the NBA player that they may have to detain him for providing false details.
At that point, Payne realized that the call to the police wasn’t the flex he thought and he lost it and repeated his name several times along with his correct date of birth.
But as soon as Payne did that the police took him into custody. You can’t make this stuff up.
”All right you’re under arrest for giving a fake name,” the officer replied as the other officer put Payne in handcuffs. “That was dumb.”
The cops didn’t hesitate to tell the 10-year veteran who’s played for the OKC Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavs, Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks and 76ers, exactly what they thought of his shenanigans.
Calling police to your house and then giving them a fake name is nonsensical.
”That was the dumbest way to get arrested man,” said the second officer. “I’ve had people get arrested for dumb stuff, and this is the top of the list.”
”Dude, you realize you could have told us your real name and we would have been gone five minutes ago and now you’re going to jail,” the second officer said they led him to the police car.
Was Cameron Payne Victim Of Domestic Violence?
Payne’s girlfriend reportedly tried to help his cause, telling the police that “Terry Johnson” was an alias he used when going out or booking hotels as an NBA player.
Seems like the combined IQ of that household was extremely low.
Payne was eventually taken to jail, where he was booked on charges of refusal to provide a truthful name and false report to law enforcement and released shortly after.
Knicks fans hope his IQ on the court this season doesn’t reflect his decision making in that moment.
