More information/denials from Perk about his weekend arrest

I had this in today’s Bolts, but I feel like both sides of the story need to be heard. We already know what police are saying and we know about Kendrick Perkins’ initial denial. But more information and details are surfacing.

Really for Perk,  his weekend arrest really didn’t carry much of any punishment. It was  just a misdemeanor charge, he got out on $150 bail and with a little  community service, I’m sure he’ll be able to move past whatever happened  at a bar in his hometown of Beaumont, TX.

But Perk sees the punishment of public perception and embarrassment as too much to ignore. Which is why he’s going on the offensive.

Again, Tuesday he denied claims made by police after his arrest for public intoxication. Through a  lawyer’s statement, Perkins claims he was actually injured during  whatever happened and even considered a police brutality complaint. And  now, there’s more. Via the Oklahoman, a publicist for Perkins says he was only having water at the bar and there are witnesses to verify it.

“Although  these may be misdemeanors, it’s a big deal to Kendrick,” said Denise  White, his publicist. “He’s not happy about how things happened that evening and feels  like the police were out of hand … He was not drinking alcohol, nor was  he intoxicated. Not one drop of alcohol Friday night. We’re not sure why  they said Kendrick was intoxicated. There are witnesses inside the club  that will attest to Kendrick only drinking water that evening.”

How  can we be sure about this? We can’t, because evidently police did not  administer a breathalyzer or take a blood test. And if you’ve ever heard  Perk talk, it might be kind of difficult to tell if he’s been drinking  or not. That slow Texas drawl makes it sound like he’s slurring  everything. I mean, doesn’t it seem a bit strange that he was arrested for public intoxication and they didn’t actually prove he was intoxicated? Does to me.
So why did everything get out of hand? White says Perkins disagreed with the club’s manager over money.

White said the altercation early Saturday morning stemmed from  Perkins attempting to collect money from the club manager with whom he  had struck a deal for the use of the establishment as an after party  site wrapping up the event. The money, White said, was to go to Perkins’  foundation, which aims to help children learn life skills and  drug-awareness. According to White, the club owner became combative with  Perkins and refused to hand over the money. An assistant to Perkins  diffused the situation before “the lone policeman inside the club  started harassing Kendrick to leave,” White said. Once outside, White  said, another officer became more combative with Perkins, pushing him  and grabbing his arm. Perkins, White said, was upset and pulled away.  The officer then arrested him.

“We still don’t know why he was physical with Kendrick,” White said.

Hey, at least it wasn’t because of bourre.

Perkins was  recovering as well from an incident that forced him to cancel his  celebrity fundraiser game as well as skip a banquet for his camp. He  reportedly was taken to the hospital the night before the arrest for  dehydration. The word on that from White is that Perkins fainted playing  dominoes at Stephen Jackson’s house. He had been playing basketball with campers and then his friends who were in town — Jackson, Rajon Rondo, Kevin Durant, Eric Maynor and James Harden — and the 100 degree heat and humidity in Beaumont caught up to him.

Whatever  happened, at least we’re getting two sides to the story. Perkins  obviously is trying to clear his name from what became a pretty ugly  stain on an otherwise solid reputation. I’m sure the clean-cut Thunder appreciate the effort too.