Ravens owner criticizes police handling of Ray Rice case
Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said he finds it "astounding" how police handled the Ray Rice domestic violence case, he told WBAL-TV.
Bisciotti said he doesn't understand how police didn't charge Rice with a more serious crime after seeing the video months ago. Ray and Janay Rice were each charged with misdemeanors.
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"If we had seen that video, we would've probably had to, we would've probably been told that we should wait until the court case came out. They had it. The police had it and gave them equal misdemeanors that night. Again, that’s astounding to me," Bisciotti said. "For me to tell you the truth, it makes me look like I'm pointing fingers at other people, but they gave them equal misdemeanors."
The Ravens owner said the team did everything it could to obtain the video, but was unsuccessful.
"We called the prosecutor. We called the police. We called the Jets' and Giants' security people and said, 'Can you help us with New Jersey?' Nobody could help us. We did everything we could to get it, and we assumed the league was doing everything it could, and I'm sure they did. But then it becomes a question of obstructing an investigation if we were to go behind their back. They said no."
Baltimore released Rice hours after the video was made public by TMZ, and he was suspended indefinitely by the league the same day. The NFL reportedly received a copy of the elevator video from a law enforcement official in April.
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- Paul Palladino
