Belfour Offered Cops Money
Dallas Stars goalie Eddie Belfour was cantankerous and uncooperative during his recent arrest at a fashionable Dallas hotel, spitting, kicking and ultimately offering to buy off police, according to the arrest report.
The hockey player first offered Dallas police officers $100,000, then $1 billion, if they would not jail him in connection with a scuffle earlier this month at a hotel.
Belfour "was placed in the rear seat of the vehicle and was seatbelted when he began attempting to lay down in the seat and putting his cowboy boots on the radio console," the report said. Shortly afterward, Belfour "threw up all over his chest."
Officers apparently struggled to control Belfour, who was jerking and spitting much of the time. His ankles were eventually secured by a pair of cuffs, but he continued jerking. His movements injured one of the officers, hyperextending his thumb.
Once restrained, Belfour began "begging" officers not to take him to jail by offering them money. Dallas Police Department spokeswoman Diana Watts said Tuesday she knows of no new charges in connection with the document's allegations.
Belfour is scheduled to appear March 29 before Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Phil Barker on charges of misdemeanor assault on a hotel security guard and resisting arrest.
After missing five games following his arrest, the goalie returned Saturday in Chicago, preserving a 2-2 tie. He then won his 29th game of the season on Sunday against San Jose. He is among the NHL's leaders with a 2.09 goals-against average.
Belfour has been apologetic to fans and the team since returning to play after the scuffle at The Mansion on Turtle Creek.
The goalie, who arrived with a woman who later left the Dallas hotel, placed a 50-year-old employee in a headlock and kicked at officers, prompting them to spray him with Mace.
At the jail, Belfour needed help to stand "due to his intoxication" while he was being searched, and "became combative" when officers tried to escort him to see a nurse, the report said. The player spent six hours in police custody before being released on bond.
Belfour's spokesman, David Margulies, released a statement in which the player apologized for the March 8 events and declined further comment, on his lawyers' advice.
©2000 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed