A Brazilian police officer is now stating the Ryan Lochte fabricated his story about being robbed at gunpoint in Rio de Janeiro.
The unnamed officer reported that Lochte and fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen stopped at a gas station in a suburb of Rio called Barra da Tijuca where several Olympic venues are located. After trying to open a locked bathroom door, the swimmers then pushed on the door and broke it. Upon breaking the door, a security guard appeared to confront the swimmers.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Officials confirm that the guard was armed, but never pulled out his weapon or pointed it at the athletes. The gas station manager soon arrived, according to the Brazilian official, and used a customer to translate.
The manager then demanded that the swimmers pay for the broken bathroom door. The swimmers finally agreed to pay the manager an unknown amount after a discussion.
Late on Wednesday, swimmers Conger and Bentz were removed from a plane headed back to the United States. The official reported that both Conger and Bentz admitted that the robbery story had been fabricated.
Lochte and teammates alleged that they were held up at gunpoint by someone dressed like the Brazilian police, but after surveillance video surfaced of the swimmers returning to the Olympic village with their wallets suspicions were raised as to the authenticity of the story.
Lochte had already left the country before being issued a search and seizure warrant on his passport. The swimmer apparently touched down in North Carolina with a Playboy model named Kayla Rae Reid.
What are your thoughts on this ongoing drama with the US Olympic swimmers and the Brazilian police?
[H/T Associated Press]
