Mike Tyson Will Face No Criminal Charges For Punching Plane Passenger

There will be no criminal charges against former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson for punching a passenger multiple times on a plane in San Francisco last month.

The announcement came earlier today (5.10.2022) after an investigation by the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, who came to that decision because of what happened before the incident on 4.20.2022!!!

“The circumstances include the conduct of the victim leading up to the incident, the interaction between Mr. Tyson and the victim, as well as the requests of both the victim and Mr. Tyson that no charges be filed in the case,” District Attorney Stephen M. Wagstaffe said. “We now deem this case to be closed.”

Video of the altercation appears to show Tyson repeatedly hitting a passenger in the seat behind him on a plane.

The incident occurred prior to the flight’s departure out of San Francisco International Airport, according to the district attorney.

In a statement after said incident, representatives for Tyson, 55, described the passenger as “aggressive”, saying he “began harassing [Tyson] and threw a water bottle at him while he was in his seat.”

The district attorney’s office says it looked at footage taken by other passengers during its investigation, and reviewed incident reports from the San Francisco Police Department and the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.

The reports said the victim had been drinking and “appeared to be intoxicated,” the district attorney said.

The victim has shared “minimal details of the incident” with the cops who responded to the scene that day, and was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

Police have confirmed that two people were detained.

The passenger that Tyson punched has since been identified as a Florida man named Melvin Townsend III.

The Brooklyn-born Tyson, who retired from boxing in 2005, returned in 2020 for an exhibition fight with Roy Jones Jr.