MIKE TYSON feared cops were going to shoot him after he nearly rammed a police car during his arrest for cocaine possession.
The Baddest Man on the Planet – who is planning a ring comeback at the age of 53 – was also charged with driving under the influence in December 2006.
Tyson exits a police van after being jailed for cocaine possessionCredit: Reuters
Tyson, who was 40 at the time, almost crashed his black BMW into a parked police vehicle outside the Pussycat Lounge nightclub in the early hours of the morning.
Iron Mike claimed cops intended to let him go until their cars almost collided.
And the former heavyweight champion – who was in talks to fight Tyson Fury – said he feared the officers would open fire after he drove straight at them.
Speaking on his Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth live shows in 2012, Tyson said: “The cops told me, ‘Mike, we were gonna let you go, but you just came right at us!’ I was driving right at them.
“They were going to shoot me!”
Tyson, who battled drug issues throughout his career only to make a fortune from his own cannabis farm, said his addiction would have killed him.
He added: “If I hadn’t gone to rehab right then, I’d have been a dead (expletive).”
Speaking of the arrest in Arizona, Jim Garber, of Buckeye Police Department, said at the time: “He came out of the nightclub and almost collided with officers patrolling in a squad car outside.
“He was followed and stopped and arrested for driving under the influence and possession of drugs.”
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Tyson drove through a stop sign.
Another officer said he saw Tyson wiping a white substance off the dashboard.
Police claimed to have found two bags of white powder in Tyson’s back pocket, reported ESPN.
Tyson – who was later sentenced to 24 hours in jail – admitted he had a drug problem in a probable cause statement filed to cops.
The statement read: “He admitted to using today and stated he is an addict and has a problem.
“Mike admitted to possessing bags of cocaine and said he uses any time he can get his hands on
it.”
Tyson previously spent three years in jail after he was convicted of rape in 1992.
It was there that late hip hop icon Tupac came to visit him – and Tyson punched a fellow inmate.
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
