Former NBA star Ty Lawson called his arresting officer a ‘white b****’ and later kicked the glass wall of his jail cell after being charged for allegedly stealing a bottle of vodka in Colorado last week.
The California Post has obtained a probable cause affidavit from Douglas County, where Lawson is accused of verbally attacking a police officer after being accused of stealing a $34 bottle of Tito’s vodka from a Castle Rock liquor store.
Following the arrest, Lawson is accused of spitting on the floor, kicking the glass wall of his cell and repeatedly yelling ‘stop,’ according to the affidavit, which claims he later ‘calmed down’ and apologized.ย
Police were called to the liquor store on July 16 after 8pm when an employee accused the former Denver Nuggets guard of stealing the vodka and taking it to a nearby restaurant.
Lawson allegedly smelled ‘of an unknown alcoholic substance’ when confronted by officers, according to the affidavit.
He was subsequently booked on a shoplifting charge and released.
Ty Lawson is pictured in a 2025 Instagram post. He has been out of the NBA since 2017
Lawson has had multiple off-court struggles, including when he was banned from playing in the Chinese Basketball League (above) for making derogatory comments in 2020
Ty Lawson is pictured alongside George Karl after being acquired by the Nuggets in 2009
Lawson has not spoken publicly about his arrest. The Daily Mail has been unsuccessful in attempts to contact Lawson through social media, his former attorney and his former agent.ย
A friend of Lawson’s, who was found with the bottle, was also detained. But he was later released after police concluded he had no role in the theft.
Lawson was coming off a national championship at North Carolina when he was drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves and traded to Denver during the 2009 NBA Draft.
He would go on to play eight NBA seasons while starting 344 of 551 regular-season games. The Maryland native may have been at his best in 2010-2011, while averaging 11.7 points and 4.7 assists a game off the bench for a Nuggets team that would finish second in the Northwest Division.
Lawson took on a bigger role with subsequent Nuggets teams and retired with a solid 12.7 ppg average.ย
He also managed stints with the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers, as well as a tour of several Chinese teams.
Off the court, Lawson struggled. He was arrested for two separate DUIs in 2015 – one in Los Angeles and the other in Denver. Additionally, he was banned from the Chinese Basketball Association in 2020 for making derogatory comments.
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