More details emerge from the night of the Kareem Hunt incident

Staff writer

Fri, Dec 7, 2018, 8:23 PM

It has been a week since the Kansas City Chiefs released Kareem Hunt, and new details have emerged from the night of the incident, which occurred in February. ESPN spoke to several sources and managed to obtain police body cam footage from that night.

While ESPN’s article confirms some of the information that has already been released about the incident, it also offers up new details regarding the video footage that showed Hunt shoving and kicking a woman.

ESPN’s report confirms police did not watch the surveillance footage of the incident that night despite witnesses on both sides expressing they view it. There also may have been some confusion over whether officers could watch the footage. One officer was reportedly heard wondering whether a detective would need a subpoena to watch the tape.

Since the Hunt video emerged, many have wondered how the NFL never got its hands on the footage. Turns out, the hotel would give the video only to law enforcement, according to ESPN.

A league source said Thursday that the NFL reviewed police documents and interviewed some of Hunt’s friends in February, and it requested the surveillance video from hotel officials, who responded that they would provide it only to law enforcement. Tony Quintal, an official with the hotel’s operating company, confirmed that.

The ESPN report also details the body cam footage interviews with Hunt’s friend Rayshawn Watkins and the woman, Abby Ottinger. Police asked Hunt if he wanted them to turn off their body cams during his interview. He said yes, and officers complied. ESPN notes that police extended that offer to at least one other witness.

ESPN also spoke to the one person who was arrested or detained that night. Derek Szeto said Ottinger ran into him “crying hysterically” that the hotel would not allow her to call 911, according to ESPN.

“That’s how I got involved, specifically because the hotel would not let her use the phone,” Szeto told Outside the Lines. “I could see she had cuts on her. She told me the guy at the front desk told her, ‘That’s what you get for being a slut,’ which I just found outrageous.”

Szeto claims he was concerned about the way the hotel was handling the incident and started filming with his phone. He informed police he was filming when they arrived. Police initially seemed fine with it, according to the report, but later ask Szeto for his phone. Szeto refused and was arrested and cited for drunken conduct intoxication. Szeto disputes that charge, but paid the citation because it would have been too much of a hassle for him to fight it. Szeto lives in Boston and was visiting Ohio on the night of the incident. He would have to travel back to Ohio to fight the citation.

Hunt was not arrested following the incident, and was allowed to play for the Chiefs during the season. He rushed for 824 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games. Hunt was released by the club the same day TMZ revealed video footage that showed Hunt shoving and kicking a woman.

Hunt has apologized for his actions, saying he’s “embarrassed” about the video and that he’s “not that type of person.”