More Arrests Expected in Plaxico Burress Case
Police, prosecutors weigh charging doctor and teammate in possible cover-up.
December 2, 2008— -- Police and prosecutors are weighing whether to bring charges against the doctor who treated New York Giant Plaxico Burress for a gunshot wound, as well as one of the player's teammates, for their role in the "universe of silence" that police say they faced when they tried to investigate the athlete's accidental shooting of himself with a .40 Cal. Glock semi-automatic pistol, ABC News has learned from two separate sources involved in the investigation.
According to ABC News sources, a female doctor with privileges to practice at New York-Cornell Hospital -- but not on staff in the Emergency Room -- treated Burress for the thigh wound and could face charges for failing to report the treatment of a gunshot wound, as required by law and hospital policy. Burress registered at the hospital under the alias Harris Smith.
In addition, authorities are considering whether to bring charges against members of Burress' entourage, the New York Giants organization, or another member of the NFL or Giants organization for a variety of alleged infractions related to the shooting incident which involved an illegal handgun, according to ABC News sources.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he spoke to the Giant owners.
"And in terms of the other parties involved here, I said to the Mara and Tisch families. I am big fans and personal friends of both, you should know. I was at the Giants Super Bowl. I was at a Giants game a few weeks ago. Nobody wants the Giants to win more than I do," said Bloomberg. "I'd love to deliver a Super Bowl with the Giants and the Jets. But the law is the law, it has nothing to do with sports. Everybody should be treated equally under the law."
According to ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, the New York Giants organization has suspended Burress for 4 games and placed him on non-football injury list, effectively ending his season and post-season.
As a result of the suspension, Burress will lose his salary for the rest of the year, ESPN reported. The Giants cannot, however, retrieve any of his signing bonus.
According to ESPN, the Giants met with Burress for 6 hours. During that time he underwent treatment for hamstring injury and members of the Giants organization examined the bullet wound. No agent or lawyer was present, ESPN said. According to ESPN, a third member of the Giants team present at the Latin Quarter – player Ahmad Bradshaw will also be interviewed by police.
According to police officials, Burress' trouble began at about 1:50 a.m. Saturday morning at a New York nightclub when the star receiver attempted to balance a drink in his left hand while catching his Glock with his right before the gun slipped from the waistband of his trousers. In the process, the gun discharged sending a powerful .40 caliber round in and out of the Super Bowl hero's thigh.
Pierce Helped a Wounded Burress Exit the Nightclub
According to police, Burress, teammate Antonio Pierce, and two other individuals entered the Latin Quarter nightclub at about 1:00 a.m. Saturday after arriving in Pierce's Cadillac Escalade.
At 1:50 a.m. the shooting took place. When it did, the handgun magazine was removed, the pistol's chamber cleared and both gun and pistol were dropped on the nightclub floor.
With Pierce helping his wounded friend, the two jocks departed the club, meeting the Escalade as it pulled up driven by a female companion.
Pierce put Plaxico in the back seat of the deluxe SUV and climbed into the front passenger seat for the ride to the hospital.
As he did, a nightclub security man came up to the car, pistol and magazine in hand.
"What do you want me to do with this?" police said he asked.
"Throw it in the glove compartment," police said the security man was told.
He complied and the car sped off to New York Cornell Medical Center where a security camera recorded their arrival at about 2:04 a.m.
The personal physician is believed to have been waiting at the hospital, authorities said. According to authorities, at this point the hospital had a legal responsibility to alert police to the shooting. Under New York State law a hospital is required to notify authorities when a patient arrives requiring treatment for a gunshot wound.
The hospital has acknowledged that did not occur and in a statement said that it was a "violation of our policies and procedures." It also said it would investigate what measures it would take against any employee should they be found to have been involved in a cover up.
Police did not learn of the incident until it was reported on television. They then attempted to contact the New York Giants, the National Football League, and the hospital, authorities said. Afterward, the league stated it "reached out" to police. However police say no official called to notify them. "Instead they made calls to try to find out what police knew," one high ranking police official said. "That is not the same thing as notifying us."
Pierce Fails to Show for Questioning
When detectives attempted to interview hospital officials they were initially told that the hospital could not disclose the information, under patient confidentiality guidelines. The inspector in charge of the nearby 17th Precinct walked over to the hospital personally and finally cooperation was received, police said.
Late this afternoon, officials still were considering whether to charge two additional persons in connection with the shooting. The charges would be in connection with the alleged cover-up. The Manhattan District Attorney's office said that the matter remains under investigation at this time.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg told reporters: "I have not talked to the District Attorney, that would be inappropriate. It's up to the District Attorney to decide what to do. Look, we take guns very seriously. We have made this the safest big city, of the 250 biggest cities in the countries of 100,000 population or more. One of the reasons is because we focused taking illegal guns off the street, out of the hands of criminals."
Pierce, police officials say, promised to show up for questioning yesterday but failed to. The players union and the NFL sent representatives in his place. Police officials said they are not satisfied, and are still seeking to talk to Pierce.
The NFL issued a statement saying the league and the team will fully cooperate with the investigation.
"The commissioner Roger Goodell called the mayor early last evening to emphasize the commitment of the NFL and the Giants to fully cooperate with the NYPD's investigation. We have had extensive communication with the NYPD since Saturday morning and are doing everything possible to cooperate in every way we can. Our office, including the commissioner, has been in close communication with the Giants throughout," said Greg Aiello, an NFL spokesman.