Sunday’s incident involving Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane was "blown out of proportion," according to the lawyer for the Buffalo cab driver at the centre of the alleged attack by Kane and his cousin.
According to a Buffalo police report, Kane, 20, and his 21-year-old cousin, James Kane, allegedly hit Jan Radecki in the early hours of Sunday, after Radecki told them he didn’t have 20 cents in change to give the two men after their fare came to $13.80 US and he was paid $15.
On Monday, Andrew LoTempio, told Chicago’s WGN-AM radio the incident isn’t as serious as first reported.
"It’s pretty much been blown out of proportion," LoTempio told the radio station. "It’s a dispute over the cab fee and unfortunately Mr. Radecki didn’t recognize Mr. Kane and just thought they were a couple of college kids.
"Some of the cab drivers here have a policy of not unlocking the doors until they get paid because they get beat on their fees by the college kids and that just kind of blew up."
The Kanes, who were charged with felony robbery and theft of services and criminal mischief, which are misdemeanours, are scheduled for a hearing next Monday in Buffalo.
According to the Buffalo News, Radecki had alleged on Sunday the Kanes punched and grabbed him and took back the $15 they originally used to pay the fare. The taxi driver reportedly had cuts on his face after the incident.
"There was a dispute over the fee and it kind of escalated from there," the lawyer said.
LoTempio told the radio station he is also a criminal attorney and he doesn’t necessarily agree with cab drivers locking fares in the car until they are paid.
"They really shouldn’t be locking the people in the car," said LoTempio. "They should probably get paid the fee up front before they let the people into the cab. It’s a common occurrence, we see it in the local city court here quite frequently. They really shouldn’t be doing it because the people get upset that they are locked in the car."
Kane is entering the final year of his entry-level deal, which will pay him a base salary of $875,000; with incentives, he could earn more than $3 million.
He is scheduled to take part in the U.S. Olympic team orientation camp next Monday in Woodridge, Ill.
When asked if the incident could lead to a felony conviction, LoTempio told the radio station "absolutely not."
He expects the incident will blow over.
"I think Mr. Radecki and I would imagine the young men, everybody has calmed down at this point, and I think that we should be able to work things out," said LoTempio.
"It’s a regular-kid incident I think. I think part of the reason it may have escalated after the fact was because of who he is."
LoTempio said any injuries Radecki may have suffered were not serious.
"He’s fine. He’s an inner-city cab driver who is driving people around late at night, sometimes in not the nicest of neighbourhoods. He’s a tough old guy," LoTempio said.
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