+1

To me, the story sounds like the taxi driver was in on the crime, so he's not going to volunteer his identity or offer to talk to a noncorrupt judge.

In the original version, why would a taxi driver stop at night for some guy with a cop badge but noo patrol car, police motorcycle, or flashing lights/siren? In fact, how could the taxi driver even see the cop badge while driving at night before stopping?

The biggest flaw in story is the fact that Brazilian cops do not show their badges. You can ask any Brazilian you want and they will tell you that they have never seen a police badge live. I am not even sure they carry them.
Police badges is something that is only seen on television when the Federal Police has a search warrant and the footage of their arrival on the scene is shown.

Further details from the swim team is that they had the cab driver stop at a service station so they could use the restroom. When they got back in the taxi and told the driver to go, he just sat there and then the "police" came up.

As for the Brazilian cops never showing their badges, how would an American citizen know that? I tend to agree with MSPeconomist that the taxi driver was probably in on the whole thing.

Many Olympic committees have told their athletes not to go out at night - especially if they will be using a taxi. Here is a link to the article: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...y-rio-olympics Don't know how accurate the story is or where the problem happened.

The whole thing is rapidly turning into an inept PR own goal for Brazil....

Agreed. Nothing will be gained in pursuing this any further, unfortunately I don't think that'll happen, this is the justice branch 15 minutes of Olympic fame... :eek:

The US national news is calling it "an embarrassing international incident" this morning, and detailing every tiny detail of the many discrepancies in the athlete's stories, even interviewing a lawyer on points of Brazilian law regarding possible consequences.
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One UK newspaper says:
...."when he was apparently ‘robbed’ in Rio..."
(quotation marks theirs, bold, mine)

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Takes a lotta R$60 taxi fares to buy a R$440K 911 (even doing a few robberies regularly on the side at a couple of hundred a pop).

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Not a good idea to get so drunk you can't take care of yourself, particularly under the circumstances.
So first of all, how does someone with ostensibly no Portuguese say: "Excuse me driver, could you please pull over at the very next service station because we have to use the bathroom rather urgently?" If that drunk, you'd sign crudely and just insist on stopping by the side of the road.
And it just so happens that the next service station is within such close distance that his friends, even if possibly summoned by cell phone, could show up prepared for a robbery within the short time it takes a guy to pee? How long a wait afterwards?
Some of them say there was one robber. The other say multiple robbers.
Their cash was supposedly taken, but not anything that would inconvenience them (credit cards and easily hacked cell phones).
The gun against the forehead story has changed.
Video shows them joking and relaxed as they enter the athlete's village.
Etc.

For those that are interested there's a thread in Omni PR re: the Lochte/swimmers/Brazil situation.

There's also a thread in Omni lite where athletes performances are discussed (there is some discussion of the Lochte situation, but now it's being shunted to PR so that the thread can stay w/ various athletes performances (well hopefully!)

Cheers.

Perhaps they stopped at the Posto da Torre in Brasilia to get some cash?

Held at gunpoint until paying up? That seems like robbery, no less so when not able to understand at the time that claimed vandalism damages is why the armed person is asking them to turn over cash.

Even people who can't speak Portuguese can get taxi drivers to pull over to a station. I don't speak Mandarin or Cantonese, and yet I could get cab drivers in China to stop and wait for me to buy something from a gas station or convenience store.

According to reports, there was a customer at the station who acted as an interpreter. I can understand the swimmers not wanting to wait around for the police to come. So the only way to get "released" is to pay on the spot for the damages that were caused. This is very normal in many countries. Is this robbery or just settling for damages done? You can take it either way. But if they were to just leave, how would they have paid for the damage they did?

I can see it going down as one of the swimmers telling the security guard, "hey, can we just pay the money we have for the damages and get out of here?". Security saying yes, taking the money and considering it a done deal. In fact, the station people told the police when they arrived that the situation was resolved.

Right now, I think the best bet is for the swimmers to have a lawyer draft up an apology and explain it as a misunderstanding relative to paying for damages vs being shaken down. Any lawyer can make it sound like it was no big deal and the reports got out of hand.

Pointing a gun at someone's head to collect money for damages from them on their way out? Seems like that may be part and parcel of a kind of extrajudicial approach that would be considered unlawful in much of the civilized world and a financial shakedown at that. Robbery is one way to put it.

I would advise them to not apologize unless and unless they think they wittingly fabricated a story to try to cover up an unlawful act that is an arrestable offense or some other stupidity.

Clearly enough a gun was pointed at one of them at least. And clearly enough they had handed over money after having been subject to a handgun pointed at them. Robbery is one way to put it.

It's stuff like blaming the alleged victim that causes people to underreport crime. Is that the objective here? It seems like a case of the pursuit of national honor run amok over some out of control guys -- and not just swimmers at that.

Which is why I knew he was lying. He told a story which was impossible to take place on Brazilian soil. Now he has to live with the consequences.

That's one way to look at it, I suppose.

More likely?
Four big drunk young guys are told the restroom is for customers only. They gotta go bad, and they are....drunk. So they kick down the door of the restroom, make a mess, and start to take off in a taxi. Oh, no, the security guard says. You guys aren't going anywhere until the police and/or my boss get here and see what happened. Four big unruly drunk guys vs. one little night security guard? Better show that pistol you've been issued as part of the job, just to make sure they don't go anywhere. Here, says one guy after quickly consulting his friends and taking up a collection. Take this cash to pay for the damage and we'll be on our merry way. In his pragmatic Brazilian way, the guard realizes that's probably the best outcome, money to repair the damages, without having to drag a case through the courts, and his boss will be satisfied with repairs. So off they go, to be seen next joking around on film as they enter their lodging.

Even in the US, property damage is an arrest-able, unlawful act. Drunk and disorderly? Also arrest-able and unlawful. Leaving the scene of a crime? Yeah, that too. Making up a story on an official police report? Yeah. That.

Holding someone at gunpoint until the police show up to deal with vandalism or public urination? Possible but perhaps rather excessive, even in the US.

Held at gunpoint until paying off a security guard? Sounds like extortion of a sort that could be fairly taken as robbery. It makes Brazi seem a bit like the Wild West.

Vandals leaving the scene of vandalism is a crime in Brazil?

Drunk and disorderly conduct allows for private citizens (or perhaps off-duty/retired law enforcement officers) to act as armed law enforcement officers unless and until paid off in Brazil?