Buffalo area attorneys are earning serious billable hours ever since Evander Kane became a Sabres star player in the spring of 2015.
I've lived in the Buffalo area my whole life and I cannot a remember a more polarizing public figure than Evander Kane.
Where Kane goes, eyeballs follow. Lately, accusations follow, too.
Make no mistake, Kane has his supporters and detractors. One thing that people on both sides of the fence can agree on is nothing good happens while Kane is at the clubs at all hours of the morning. Kane is a lightning rod for controversy.
I can't remember the last time I talked about Kane's on ice contributions to the Sabres. Kane's reputation proceeds him in Buffalo.
On Friday morning, Kane turned himself in to Buffalo police in connection with a June 24 altercation that occurred at a Buffalo nightclub involving Kane.
Buffalo Police said the charges against Kane are related to the power forward's behavior in the Bottoms Up dance club on West Chippewa Street on June 24, the day that the Buffalo Sabres were hosting the NHL Draft. Kane is alleged to have had "unwanted physical contact" with three women. Kane is also alleged to have tried to fight a bouncer in the bar after he was asked to leave leave the premises.
Buffalo Police allege that Kane later pulled the hair and grabbed the throat of one of the women, while trying to push her into his vehicle. Witnesses said Kane began acting in an inappropriate manner toward some female patrons while acting as a “celebrity bartender” or “guest bartender” at Bottoms Up, according to two law enforcement officials closely familiar with the case.
On Friday night, an attorney for Bottoms Up nightclub told The Buffalo News that, as far as the owner and GM are concerned, Kane did not trespass inside the bar on the date in question. Kane’s attorney, Paul J. Cambria, said that also was his understanding.
However, law enforcement officials told The Buffalo News that bar employees told police that Kane had to be ordered to leave the bar because of unruly behavior.
Although Kane, 24, voluntarily surrendered to police on Friday, he still proclaims his innocence and plans to fight the charges, Cambria said.
“Without a doubt, he plans to defend himself against these charges,” Cambria said. He added that he does not believe the charges should affect Kane’s future with the hockey team.
A News reporter was watching when Kane met three Buffalo police detectives outside the Central Booking Bureau at Buffalo’s City Court building at 11 a.m. Friday. One of the detectives put handcuffs on Kane before accompanying him into the booking office, where he was formally charged. The handcuffing was normal police procedure one of the Buffalo police officials.
“I don’t know what their procedures are,” Cambria said. “I don’t run the police department. But they represented to us beforehand that, if Evander voluntarily surrendered, they would not handcuff him.
“I can’t concern myself with that now. We have bigger fish to fry in this case. He will plead not guilty when he appears in court on August 1, and we will go forward from there.”
“Unwanted physical contact” is the underlying reason for the harassment charges against Kane.
Read the latest facts of the Evander Kane case here:
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