Tyson Faces Jail If Scuffle Is Deemed a Violation

This Monday, April 20, 2009 picture shows former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in New York....

This Monday, April 20, 2009 picture shows former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson in New York. Airport police said Tyson has been detained on suspicion of battery following an incident involving paparazzi at the United Airlines ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini)

(AP)

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who was arrested in a scuffle with a photographer, could be sent to jail if he's found to have violated probation from a 2007 drug case, officials said Thursday.

The 43-year-old former heavyweight champion and a photographer, Tony Echeverria, made citizens' arrests of each other following a confrontation at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at Los Angeles International Airport.

Each man claimed the other struck him, police said.

Airport police were called, and the men were taken away for booking on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. They were fingerprinted and photographed, then released without bail, Sgt. Jim Holcomb said.

The city attorney will decide whether to file criminal charges.

Tyson is on probation after pleading guilty in Arizona to cocaine possession and driving under the influence. He spent 24 hours in jail there.

Zach Dal Pra, deputy chief of the Maricopa County Adult Probation Department, said his office is still trying to get in touch with Los Angeles authorities to figure out exactly what transpired during the airport incident.

"Did Mr. Tyson's actions constitute a violation of probation here? If so, we'll start court proceedings," he said. "Right now, we're still in that investigative mode."

Tyson could face jail time if a court finds that he violated his probation, Dal Pra said.

Tyson had stopped at LAX while traveling from Europe to Las Vegas when several photographers began snapping pictures of him near a ticket counter, Holcomb said.

Echeverria, 50, who described himself as a freelance photographer, told police that Tyson struck him once. The photographer fell to the ground and was treated for a cut to his forehead at a hospital.

Tyson's spokeswoman, Tammy Brook, said the boxer was traveling with his wife and 10-month-old child when he was attacked by an overly aggressive paparazzo. She said Echeverria repeatedly refused to comply with orders from airport personnel to leave the family alone and at one point collided with the baby's stroller.