Alexander “Alex” Galchenyuk pictured (inset) in a Scottsdale PD mug shot and (right) while in the back of a police car following his July 9 arrest.
Newly released body camera footage from a July 9 incident in Scottsdale, Arizona, shows the private property hit-and-run stop and arrest that led a professional hockey player to lose his job with the Arizona Coyotes.
When Alexander “Alex” Galchenyuk, 29, was taken into custody in the misdemeanor hit-and-run, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and threat case, body camera footage shows, he was belligerent and ranting outside of a white BMW. Galchenyuk’s father was sitting behind the wheel of the car when a Scottsdale Police Department officer first approached the vehicle. He claimed that his son, who was sitting in the passenger seat, was “totally fine.”
Cops have said that the son was driving during the suspected hit-and-run of a sign and curb, but that the father showed up to the scene and got behind the wheel thereafter.
Galchenyuk was allegedly spotted by witnesses stumbling outside the vehicle after the collision.
The suspect, during his initial exchanges with a responding officer, repeatedly asked the cop where he was from and stated he wanted to have some chewing tobacco.
“Wherever you’re from, I’m from,” the officer said. The officer walked off after Galchenyuk called him a “p—y ass motherf—er.”
Once another police officer pulled Galchenyuk out of the passenger seat, saying the suspect threatened to cut him up, he begged the officers to take him home as his pregnant wife was calling him. He said that he respected them all.
Moments later, the hockey player began ranting about the taxes in the highest tax bracket for more than a decade.
“I paid my f—ing taxes for f—ing 12 years in a row straight, in the taxage [sic] bracket,” he said, slurring the last two words. “In the highest, in the highest tax bracket for f—ing 12 years in a row. Guys, c’mon.”
“I’ve paid f—ing millions of dollars to f—ing pay for taxes,” Galchenyuk continued.
“That doesn’t give you a right to threaten us,” one officer responded.
“I’m not threatening you,” Galchenyuk said, before an officer shot back that he had, in fact, threatened to cut him up.
Just before he was loaded into the police car, Galchenyuk stated, “Bro, I’m a professional hockey player.”
Once he was inside the police car, Galchenyuk began ramping up his threatening statements, saying things like “All your kids and wives and daughters will die. I’ll make sure of that,” and “One phone call and you’re all dead, your whole family, your bloodline is dead.”
“You’re a bunch of f—ing pu—ies. Sorry,” he said, just before an officer “Mike” driving the police car verbalized Galchenyuk’s Miranda rights.
“You understand that my rights is f—ing worth more than all your f—ing life combined,” Galchenyuk said.
In a July 18 apology posted on X, Galchenyuk acknowledged that his alcohol-fueled behavior was “deeply offensive, uncalled for, horrendous, embarrassing, disrespectful and just plain awful.”
“I let you all down and I am truly sorry,” the longtime NHL center said. “While this behavior after drinking alcohol is not representative of who I am, I do have to take responsibility for it.”
Galchenyuk noted that his arrest resulted in the Arizona Coyotes voiding his contract, costing him another “chance to do what I love, play professional hockey.”
The Wisconsin-born hockey player, who was a reliable double-digit goal scorer in the earlier stages of his 11-year-career, announced that he checked himself into the NHL/NHLPA Assistance Program in the hopes that he would get the help he needs and “never make a mistake like this again.”
“Again, I am sorry I let you down and I hope over time and with hard work, I can show all of you I am a better person than this horrendous moment,” the apology concluded.
Galchenyuk reportedly pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor threat charge in August, leading to the dismissal of the five other charges.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
