Watch CBS News

Reporter Explains 'Why Shady May Walk' On 94WIP

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There's two sides to every story.

In the latest development in the LeSean McCoy alleged assault case, Bigtrial.net reporter Ralph Cipriano explained his witness-based report titled, 'Why Shady May Walk' on Monday.

"Officer Butler, who apparently is tight-end sized himself -- at least 250-pounds, about 6'4" the way he's been described to me," Cipriano told Angelo Cataldi and the 94WIP Morning Show. "He comes over to the table and he grabs the champagne bottle -- you know, the 350 dollar pink champagne. He takes a walk with it and that's when Shady's friends get involved and say, 'Hey what are you doing?' And words are exchanged and before you know it, the fracas starts.

Listen: Ralph Cipriano on 94WIP Morning Show

 

The brawl which took place at Recess nightclub in Olde City on February 7th at 2:45 a.m., allegedly involved McCoy, former University of Pittsburgh player Tamarcus Porter, and two others fighting with three off-duty police officers.

Cipriano says witnesses believe Officer Butler was the physical aggressor.

Related: D.A. Seth Williams On LeSean McCoy Case: 'We're Not Going To Rush'

"That's what the witnesses are saying, on his side of this, for sure," Cipriano explained. "Mr. Officer Butler who is in plain clothes of course, off-duty, he comes over and grabs [Tamarcus] Porter, the former Pitt running back who is at Shady's table. Grabs him by the neck and body slams him on the ground and when he's got him on the ground he pins and he's got him down by his dreadlocks. And that's when the melee starts, everybody jumps in and it's crazy and that's where you see that snippet that's on TMZ."

Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police president, John McNesby, believes McCoy was heavily involved in the physical nature of the fight.

"It was a sucker punch to the one officers by LeSean McCoy over a bottle of champagne and it was an all out beat down," McNesby said Friday on the 94WIP Morning Show. "This wasn't just an assault, this was an aggravated assault."

According to Cipriano, witnesses on McCoy's side say he was hardly involved at all.

"He does rush over, but then it's sort of a comedy of errors on his part," Cipriano says, according to eye-witness reports. "[McCoy] falls down on his way over, he gets up. If he did anything, they're saying he didn't touch anybody. His concern, according to his gang, is that he was trying to get Officer Butler's hands off Porter's throat -- his friends throat and that's the sort of thing. But you gotta question -- we're talking about an athlete and a woman drags him away from it, so how involved could he have been?

Related: FOP President: 'They Have More Discovery On LeSean McCoy Than O.J. Simpson'

"But the bouncers are right there on the scene, in the middle of the whole mess and they make the decision to throw out Officer Butler," he continued. "They also evict the two cops and they evict Porter. But LeSean, nobody bothers with. Certainly, the bouncers -- who are first on the scene -- make a determination of guilt and Shady passes that test."

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.