I have some personal experience with this kind of thing. As a sailor stationed in San Diego many years ago a small group of us went to visit a well known tourist bar called Hussong's in Ensinada, MX. The local young men our age decided they wanted to fight with us and outnumbered us 4 to 1. The local cops got wind of it and arrested us. It was probably more for our protection than anything else but we still had to give them all the money we had then slide out of town quietly. Lesson learned. Mexican cops are corrupt. I have every reason to believe this is common in all Spanish speaking countries; maybe even Spain.
So when Lochte said he was robbed at gun point; it was likely true. What he left out was it was off duty cops working privately for someone and the damage done was just a throw away sign the store gets for free to advertise a product.
We have been deliberately misled about what happened, and had people been paying more attention to details, such as the fact that none of the video released by the Rio police department proves the claim made by the Rio police department (that the bathroom was vandalized) people would not have been so quick to accept the accusation that Lochte had done something wrong.
My son had a similar experience (Mexico brief “detainment” by LEO) while in the USMC at San Diego.
I also think that Lochte’s story was embellished, as he told his mother. His mother, IIRC, is the one who reported it to officials. By then, he may have been reluctant to back out on his story and risk making his mother look bad.
What does this statement have to do with Brazil?
Title says PICTURES, not PICTURE.
Where’s the rest of the pictures?
They’re not at the link.
“the damage done was just a throw away sign the store gets for free to advertise a product. “
A sign that cost Lochte millions in lost endorsements.
Lucrative endorsements can be can be pulled for any reason. There is no entitlement clause.
A few years ago I read where the police in Mexico City were renting out their uniforms for a little extra cash. If so, one wonders if this is a widespread practice.
For me, it was just another of the 1001 reasons not to go to Mexico.
Any amount of vandalism is inexcusable, if the store wanted that sign taken down, they can do that themselves, they don’t need Ryan Lochte’s help
He voluntarily handed over the money to pay for the sign and the door, plus an additional $100 “tip”.
And finally, when you are in a host country, you act on your best behavior, you wouldn’t like it if a house guest went in to you house and busted a door and ripped down your family photos off the wall.
Lochte, in the end, acted badly, he deserves losing his endorsements and possibly being banned from the next games.
Brazil, has its own problems, they don’t need made up ones to add to it
What did Lochte in was his lies on national TV ...
Crooked third world police couldn’t be trusted to write a parking ticket to the correct person if there was $2 to be made. They have dead bodies and murderous police all over the plave (try Live Leak - search Brazilian Police) and are wasting our time this petty crapola.
Lochte and the State Dept should tell these creeps to F-off.
Except that your last phrase may be largely if not entirely based on speculation and is not terribly relevant:
... the damage done was just a throw away sign the store gets for free to advertise a product.
How was the security cop hired by the property owner to know the sign was of little or no value or that the holes left in the wall was not a problem.
Was security to expect that the cost to replace the sign should be eaten by his boss?
Do we know security didn't give any money he obtained to the property owner (especially after the owner learned there was money involved)?
Do you doubt the anger of local gods (and their prosecutor and judge) was fully justified when Lochte falsely charged its law enforcement arm with corruption and embarrassed them before the world on this international stage?
We had a plant in tijuana and our large corporation was rumored to have paid protection for our border crossing cars. They were prominently marked with the company logo on three sides. Plus we were warned that there were lots of fakers, anybody could have a badge and a uniform and we were advised that they could be bought off for $20.
Coming back through San Ysidro or Otay mesa you could see the federales staking out roads leading to the checkpoints about three miles out. Our local laisons told us they were setting up for shaking down tourists returning from Rosarito and Ensenada.
As a sailor stationed in San Diego many years ago a small group of us went to visit a well known tourist bar called Hussong’s in Ensinada, MX. The local young men our age decided they wanted to fight with us and outnumbered us 4 to 1. The local cops got wind of it and arrested us. It was probably more for our protection than anything else but we still had to give them all the money we had then slide out of town quietly. Lesson learned. Mexican cops are corrupt.
...
And then the cops gave the locals some of the money for picking the fight. That’s how the cops knew about it.
Classic case of “the coverup was worse than the crime.”
IMO
Mordida or bribes and corruption are common everywhere but
Japan
Taiwan
South Korea
Singapore of course
USA
Canada
Aussie and NZ
Western Europe except east bloc and Italy and France and yes Spain
Cop and govt corruption is the norm everywhere else
It’s not just Spanish speaking
Chilé is probably least corrupt in Latin America
Mexico is the worst no question
He certainly could be innocent, but “American hero” is really a stretch.