IOC Looking to Set Up Disciplinary Commission in Ryan Lochte Case

The International Olympics Committee is setting up a disciplinary commission.

ByABC News
August 19, 2016, 6:30 PM

— -- The International Olympic Committee is looking to set up a disciplinary commission to determine if swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his teammates will face punishment over what Brazilian authorities say was a fabricated story about a robbery during the Rio games, ABC News confirmed.

Lochte issued an apology Friday "for not being more careful and candid" when explaining what happened during an alleged gunpoint robbery in Rio de Janeiro last weekend.

On Sunday, Lochte claimed that he and three teammates -- Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and James Feigen -- were robbed in a taxi while heading to the Olympic Village early that morning. Lochte told NBC News' Matt Lauer on Wednesday that the swimmers had used a restroom at a gas station, but when they returned to the taxi, the driver didn't move. Then, two men approached with guns and badges and told them to get out and get down, he said.

Rio's Civil Police Chief Fernando Veloso said the four U.S. swimmers were not robbed.

One or more of the swimmers vandalized a bathroom at the gas station, police said. The athletes broke mirrors and damaged other things in the bathroom. They initially refused to stay, but security asked the taxi to not leave. Then, another person stepped in to intervene between the athletes and the guards, and the swimmers left money, police said.

PHOTO: Surveillance video obtained by Globo TV shows Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. Olympic swimmers at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Surveillance video obtained by Globo TV shows Ryan Lochte and three other U.S. Olympic swimmers at a gas station in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Police said that witnesses were initially afraid to speak and that there was no evidence against the athletes.

Surveillance video obtained by Brazil's Globo TV shows the swimmers at a gas station. Additional surveillance footage obtained by Globo TV shows the swimmers arriving at a party at French House around 1:45 a.m. and leaving four hours later. According to a judge in the case, the athletes claimed to have left the party at 4 a.m.

Yesterday, police in Rio de Janeiro recommended that Lochte and Feigen face charges of false reporting of a crime, a civil police spokesperson said. Prosecutors will decide whether or not they will face charges.

The USOC said that Conger and Bentz left Rio Thursday after giving statements to authorities and getting their passports back. Feigen is able to collect his passport and return to the United States after paying a roughly $11,000 fine, according to the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro.

Lochte had already returned to the United States.

In a statement, Lochte's lawyer, Jeffrey Ostrow, said he wasn't aware of "the federal police recommending charges for filing a false police report."

ABC News' Matt Gutman, Emily Shapiro and Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.

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