A passenger beaten by famed boxer Mike Tyson in a widely publicized altercation on a JetBlue flight in 2022 has filed a lawsuit against the fighter and the airline in San Mateo County Superior Court.
The incident occurred on April 20, 2022, and Tyson was not charged with any charges as the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office had no reason to do so.
The lawsuit was filed on April 19, just one day before the two-year statute of limitations for some of the plaintiff’s claims was set to expire.
According to the complaint, Melvin George Townsend, then 36, was sitting on Tyson on a flight from San Francisco to Fort Meyers, Florida. Townsend was a fan of Tyson and before the flight departed, he engaged in a verbal exchange with Tyson and bought him. beverages. Tyson was sitting with an unidentified guy he allegedly referred to as his “guyager. “
Townsend claims that after an era of “friendly conversations” and drinking, which Tyson “readily accepted,” Tyson asked his partner to give Townsend psilocybin mushrooms. The couple refused. Then, “suddenly and as a provocation,” Tyson got up, turned around, leaned back in his seat, and beat Townsend up, even as his partner tried to stop him.
The complaint describes the severity of the beating and highlights the physical differences between Tyson and Townsend. Tyson’s prowess in the ring is presented with respect (“one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time,” and Tyson’s nickname is “the baddest guy in the ring”). planet”), though it is then compensated for by a lengthy description of his “propensity for physical violence, especially while intoxicated” and a record of “arrests, convictions, and criminal sentences. “
Townsend describes himself as a 5-foot-6, 5-pound person who has never “competed in fighting sports. “He estimates Tyson punched him 10 times in the face, head and neck.
“Because of Mr. Tyson’s ordinary strength and decades of professional education and combat skills, there was no way that plaintiff could simply protect himself or fight Mr. Tyson,” the lawsuit states.
Townsend says that without the help of Tyson’s boyfriend, he doesn’t think he would have survived.
In Townsend’s version of the incident, he is simply a fan of the company of a hero from his formative years. It states that “at no time did he act in a manner that would have justified Mr. Tyson physically attacking him, let alone continually hitting him on the head, face, and neck. “
The complaint states that Tyson is retired and scheduled to fight Jake Paul on July 20, 2024. Tyson is 57 years old, Paul would be 30 years younger.
The aircraft incident was widely reported at the time, and video clips filmed through other passengers were widely shared on social media and in the news. Townsend mentions them in the complaint filed with his charge, stating that “none of the videos show the complainant demonstrating an attack on Mr. Tyson, or harassing, attacking, or striking Mr. Tyson. “
According to Townsend, “They depict an unhinged Mr. Tyson ruthlessly attacking the plaintiff, while Mr. Tyson’s partner is a relentless Mr. Tyson seeking to help him avoid the beatings. “
Watching one of the video clips that can be seen on YouTube and Facebook platforms, it appears to show Townsend pantomiming with a friend across the aisle, his dizziness and his luck of sitting the outstanding wrestler. He can be seen leaning forward in the front seat. , gesticulating and talking as Tyson looks straight ahead, probably ignoring him. The video then transitions to coups. et shows Tyson throwing punches at a hunched person.
The video is cropped to show Townsend with blood on his forehead and a very unhappy expression on his face. He shows his forehead in a subdued manner, the unhappy expression frozen on his face.
After the incident, Tyson’s camp posted a statement that Townsend had been competitive and threw a water bottle at Tyson, even though the water bottle is not seen in the short clips.
Both passengers were evacuated from the San Francisco-bound plane. Police arrived at the scene and took statements. Subsequently, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office declined to qualify Tyson.
Townsend briefly reappeared in the global spotlight in late November 2023 when he widely reported that his lawyer had issued a “pre-litigation claim” in the amount of $450,000. Tyson’s attorney reportedly called the request “extortion” and said he would not be paid.
Townsend’s lawsuit comprises 3 counts against Tyson (assault, battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress) and 4 against JetBlue, adding negligence and negligent hiring, retention, and supervision. JetBlue’s claims claim that the airline has done a greater job protecting Tyson’s Townsend.
Townsend asked for a jury to hear his claims.
Townsend’s attorney did not respond to a request about the amount he intends to seek in the lawsuit.
It was not without delay that he accepted an invitation from JetBlue to comment on the lawsuit.