(CBS-DETROIT) —Three people were arrested after a scuffle with Livingston County sheriff’s deputies during Shaquille O’Neal’s visit to his restaurant.
The Livingston County Sheriff’s Office says officers assisted with O’Neal’s visit to his Big Chicken restaurant in Hartland Township on Friday afternoon.
Before O’Neal arrived, a 21-year-old man was confrontational with a deputy. The deputy de-escalated the situation and continued to provide security, authorities said.
Later, a bystander told officers that the Howell man was making offensive comments and thought he had a gun in his backpack.
The sheriff’s office said a deputy attempted to make contact with the man, who then “lashed out” at the deputy.
The officer then drew his taser. A 48-year-old woman who was with the man tried to disarm the deputy. According to the sheriff’s office, the woman and her 21-year-old daughter prevented the deputy from taking the man into custody.
Two other officers tried to remove the two women. When they were moved, the two women fell to the ground. According to the sheriff’s office, the man then attacked one of the deputies and tried to put that deputy in a chokehold.
The two other officers fired their Tasers, but it had no effect. The three officers handcuffed the man and took him into custody.
The two women were also arrested after they tried to resist and run from authorities.
The officer who was attacked was slightly injured.
The sheriff’s office was contacted an hour before the event by O’Neal’s PR team, who said the visit was not supposed to be public, but that the information had been leaked and they were expecting large crowds.
Due to the late notification and because of a homecoming parade, the sheriff’s office was unable to schedule enough officers.
Authorities said more than 250 people were in the restaurant during O’Neal’s visit.
