Brazil police: Ryan Lochte lied about robbery

Brazilian police said Thursday Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. swimmers lied about being robbed in Rio de Janeiro during the Olympics but it’s unclear what charges, if any, will be filed.

{mosads}”Right now, as we speak, what the police can affirm, there was no robbery the way it was reported or claimed by the athletes. They were not victims of the criminal actions that they claimed they were,” Rio’s civil police chief, Fernando Veloso, said at a news conference, adding that at least one of the athletes had vandalized a gas station.

Police said Lochte and fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen stopped at a gas station in a suburb of Rio Sunday and broke the door to an outside bathroom, mirrors inside and other equipment. The swimmers paid for damages and left before police arrived, Veloso said at the news conference.

A gas station security guard pulled out a firearm because one of the swimmers was acting erratically, but no one was harmed, the chief said. 

Conger and Bentz — who were pulled off a plane Wednesday night when they were attempting to travel back to the U.S. — told police that the original story was made up. A judge attempted to prevent Lochte from leaving the country, but he had already arrived in the U.S.

Lochte initially told NBC News that the four swimmers were in a taxi that was pulled over by men with badges. He said one man pointed a gun to his forehead and ordered him to get down. Lochte said the robbers took his money and wallet but left his cellphone and credentials. He and his fellow swimmers were returning to the Olympic Village from a party.

In a later interview, Lochte changed some of the details of the story, instead saying a gun was pointed in his direction. He also said the taxi wasn’t pulled over but that the swimmers had made a stop at a gas station, where they were robbed.