Former Nets superstar Jayson Williams was taken to a Manhattan hospital for a psychological evaluation early today after he trashed his hotel room while acting “suicidal” and “violent,” authorities told The Post.
Several suicide notes, sleeping pills and empty pill bottles were found in the room of the 6-foot-10, 325-pound ex-hoops great, police sources said.
A female friend called police at 4:02 a.m. to say that Williams, 41, was acting “suicidal” and “violent” in his room at the Embassy Suites New York hotel in Battery Park City, the sources said.
When cops arrived, they found the ex-NBA star agitated and intoxicated, the sources said. The room has been trashed.
The cops called for the Emergency Services Unit, whose officers are trained in handling violent people.
Emergency service cops were forced to Taser Williams when he refused to leave the room.
He was handcuffed and taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital for a psychological evaluation.
The sources said sleeping pills and empty bottles of prescription drugs were strewn around the room.
Several suicide notes were found, but the sources would not disclose what they said.
The incident occurred 11 days before Williams must decide whether to accept a plea deal offer from New Jersey prosecutors in his pending manslaughter case or face re-trial, according to several sources.
Williams also has a looming May 12 hearing in his divorce case filed by his estranged wife, Tanya.
Outside the hospital this afternoon, Akhtar Farzaie, his manager and friend, said he had spoken with Williams today and “Jason is doing fine, he’s doing fine. He’s in great spirits.”
“All of us are to be by his side as friends,” said Farzaie, who was with four other people.
Tanya showed up at the hospital about 2 p.m. She did not talk to reporters.
Williams, a former college star at St. John’s, played in the NBA for nine seasons for the Philadelphia 76’ers and the New Jersey Nets.
Two months ago, Williams’ estranged wife claimed he once threatened to kill her and their two daughters, then burn their house down.
In her divorce filing, Tanya Young Williams further alleged that the former Nets forward punched out a car window while his kids sat inside the vehicle, and hurt himself after stumbling drunk into their daughters’ room to argue with his wife.
Williams was tried in 2002 on charges of gunning down 55-year-old limo driver Costas “Gus” Christofi at his estate in Alexandria Township, NJ, on Feb. 14, 2002.
Prosecutors claimed Williams was playing with a shotgun while giving a tour of his home when the weapon was fired, killing Christofi.
In April 2003, Williams was acquitted of the most serious charges against him – but the jury was deadlocked on reckless manslaughter charges. He faces a retrial on that charge.
The Christofi family eventually settled with Williams in a wrongful death suit worth $2.75 million.
Christofi’s sister, Andrea Adams, told The Post she doubted Williams tried to commit suicide.
“He doesn’t strike me as that kind of person,” she said. “It’s just another ploy to get sympathy from the public and postpone the retrial. They keep dragging it on and on and on. You have a wound and they just won’t let it heal.”
Additional reporting by Kirsten Fleming, Larry Celona, Clemente Lisi and Andy Geller