Scottsdale, Arizona –
Alex Galceniuk repeatedly used racist slurs against police officers during training and threatened to kill two police officers during a traffic stop last weekend, police said in a report. That act led to the Arizona Coyotes canceling the player’s contract on Friday, police said.
A Scottsdale police report said Galchenuk allegedly crashed his car into a sign and then became erratic and aggressive with officers.
Galchenyuk, citing his connections in Moscow, said, “I will cut you, your wife and your daughter into pieces,” and “With one phone call, you and your family are dead, and your lineage is dead.” police said in a report.
Galchenyuk, who was born in the United States to Belarusian parents and spent much of his childhood in Russia, made several racial slurs, the report said, referring to police officers in training.
The Coyotes terminated Garceniuk’s contract the day after he was laid off unconditionally, citing material breach of terms.
“We are aware of an incident involving Mr. Alex Galchenyuk and strongly condemn this type of conduct,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “As soon as the club learned of the allegations, we began the process of working with the National Hockey League to terminate his standard player contract through the appropriate channels.”
Galchenyuk was arrested on Sunday on charges of hit-and-run on property, disorderly conduct, disobedience, resisting arrest, threatening or intimidating, police said.
It was not immediately clear whether Mr. Galchenyuk had a lawyer.
A police report said witnesses told police the white BMW hit a curb and a sign. Trainees and trainees arrived and found Mr Galchenyuk lying on the ground about 20 feet from the car. They watched another man drive away with him in the passenger seat.
When the police stopped the car, they found that they were both seriously injured. Galchenyuk became agitated and began to move erratically, so the police told him to get out of the car. According to the report, Galchenyuk fought police officers in training until he was handcuffed.
Police said Galchenuk threatened and repeatedly uttered racial slurs as he was taken to Scottsdale Prison. He was arrested on a misdemeanor charge but released the next day on his own accord.
Witnesses told police that Galchenyuk was the driver when the car crashed and then got out of the car and lay on the ground. Galchenyuk later told police he was joking about the threat, according to the report.
The Coyotes signed Galceniuk to a one-year, $775,000 deal on July 1, the start of free agency, as his third deal with the team. He appeared in 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche last season and spent most of his year in the AHL.
