Riders defensive back Loucheiz Purifoy says his being “hangry” led to him being detained by police on Sunday night. He says he didn’t see the “altercation” that led to police arresting a 31-year-old woman.
Purifoy says he and some teammates went out for dinner at Earl’s on Sunday after the Western Semi-Final. He says his food was 2.5 hours late coming to the table.
“I guess I got loud with the waitress,” he says.
Purifoy says while he was speaking with the manager, an “altercation” started. Police arrested a 31-year-old woman and charged her with common assault. Purifoy says she was a part of his group dining at the restaurant. When asked if he knows the woman well, he said “she’s my friend.”
The incident happened around 10:30 pm on Sunday.
Purifoy would not say which teammates he was with, or how many Riders were there. He says there were “enough to know that I didn’t do nothing wrong in this situation.
“My teammates will tell you that I was diffusing the situation. I just was loud because of my food. The other stuff that happened, I had nothing to do with that,” he adds.
Riders Head Coach Craig Dickenson says “(Purifoy) should have just removed himself and he knows that. The police were called, I think, to de-escalate a situation that shouldn’t’ve happened in the first place.
“We have a code of conduct and that was in violation of it, and there will be some internal discipline because of it,” Dickenson adds.
Purifoy says it was just his second time going out this season because of the COVID protocols for players. And he regrets it.
“I should’ve just stayed home.”
(with files from Derek Taylor)