Police Official: Ryan Lochte Made Up Story About Robbery

United States' Ryan Lochte prepares before a men's 4x200-meter freestyle heat during the swimming competitions at the 2016 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A top Brazilian police official says Ryan Lochte and three other American swimmers were not the victims of a robbery as some of the athletes had claimed.

Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso says the four men became rowdy while at a gas station early Sunday after a night of partying. He says they were inebriated, and broke down the door of a bathroom, a soap dispenser and a mirror.

Veloso told a Thursday news conference that “no robbery was committed against these athletes. They were not victims of the crimes they claimed.”

Veloso says police had interviewed the taxi driver with the men that night and two security guards who confronted them at the bathroom.

He did not say whether the guards pulled their guns on the swimmers but says investigators had found no excessive use of force. An official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing told The Associated Press earlier Thursday that two security guards pointed guns at the swimmers.

Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. I can understand why Rio wants to set the record straight. They have endured a lot of criticism (and rightly so) for their olympic readiness and for the conditions in parts of the city and some of the venues. The last thing they need is another reason for the world to avoid Rio and lose out on even more tourism $$.
    But maybe i’m taking their side because Lochte looks like a complete douche in this photo.

  2. “we were afraid we’d get into trouble”

    That line always bothered me about their story. If they we’re robbed, why would they get into trouble?

  3. After watching City of God, there’s no way I’d go to Rio.

  4. Lochte is not the brightest. A few of his quotes:

    “Something will pop up in my head. It could be like the weirdest thing. Like all’a sudden like I have like a jumping banana in my head. And I stop and pause. I’m like that damn jumping banana is in my head. Like, I don’t know what’s going on."

    “These are my shoes that I designed from top to the very sole to the very top to the bottom. Laces.

    “I’ve talked in front of … like… a lot of big business people about stuff I didn’t even know.”

    Borrowed this pic from a poster at Rawstory:

    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CqG4E9QUAAAEsn_.jpg

  5. Makes ones ponder the question; how many times in their lives the excuse “just boys having fun” has been used?

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