Panthers Players Arrested In Alleged Police Scuffle
Police Say Goalie, Teammate Refused To Leave Club
POSTED: Monday, April 9, 2007
UPDATED: 3:33 pm EDT April 9,
2007
MIAMI BEACH, Fla. -- Two Florida Panthers players were arrested at a South Beach bar early Monday morning following an alleged confrontation with police.
Goalie Ed Belfour and left wing Ville Peltonen were at Nikki Beach when security guards from the club asked police to make Belfour leave, police said.
The 41-year-old hockey player refused and walked toward the officer "in a fighting stance" and pushed him, a Miami Beach police report said.
Belfour pulled away from the officer trying to arrest him and grabbed his shirt. He then fell forward on the ground, kicking and refusing to place his hands behind his back, the report said.
Belfour had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol, police said. He was charged with disorderly intoxication and resisting an officer without violence.
Peltonen, 33, was charged with criminal mischief after he broke a metal pole off a fire rescue truck parked in the area, a police report said.
Belfour was being held at the Miami-Dade County jail on $1,500 bond. Peltonen was being held on $500 bond.
While playing for the Dallas Stars in 2000, Belfour pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest following a scuffle with a security guard at an upscale hotel.
Copyright 2007 by Local10.com.
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