Lee County NAACP wants charges dropped against man arrested after brawl at basketball game

Reporter: Samantha Johns
Published: Updated:
David Church Sr. (left) and Mike Love (right) speak about the arrest of Church after a brawl broke out at a basketball game. (CREDIT: WINK News)

The NAACP is defending a father who punched a coach during a high school basketball game, saying the video does not show the whole story.

The fight happened two weeks ago during a game between Ida Baker and Dunbar High School.

The civil rights organization said David Church Sr. doesn’t have a history of a violent past and he was only defending his son.

David Church Sr. (left) and Mike Love (right) speak about the arrest of Church after a brawl broke out at a basketball game. (CREDIT: WINK News)

The NAACP feels the charges are unjust.

The punch was caught on video for everyone to see.

Cape Coral police said Church, 46, threw the punch. Detectives said he came out of the stands at Mariner High and took that swing at the coach.

“With eight seconds to go, the Ida Baker player unsportsmanlike hit a Dunbar player in the groin. There was a technical and Mr. Church son was going to take the free throw,” said Mike Love, the co-chair for the Criminal Justice Committee of the Lee County NAACP. “The same Ida Baker student, he headbutt David Church Jr. and tackled him to the ground.”

According to the NAACP, seeing his son get attacked didn’t sit well with Church, so he went on the court to de-escalate the situation.

The NAACP said Church didn’t get violent until the coach hit him. The Cape Coral police officer said he couldn’t do that.

“He was a victim. He was denied his right to file a complaint. But yet still, he was served with a warrant for arrest and to appear,” Love said.

The NAACP helped Church file an official complaint with the Cape police and created a petition asking the state attorney’s office to drop all the charges.

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