Bryant and wife Vanessa were attending a service at St. Therese of Carmel Church in San Diego's Carmel Valley on Sunday when he thought someone was taking pictures of him with a cellphone.
According to police, Bryant took the phone from the man, 21-year-old Thomas Agos, but when he didn't see any pictures on the phone, he returned the phone and left the church before service was over.
Agos claims he suffered a sprained wrist during the incident and had to go to the hospital to have it checked out.
San Diego police say Bryant's celebrity will have no bearing on how they handle this case.
"It's a misdemeanor case, it's being investigate the way all of our other misdemeanor cases are investigated," said Lt. Andra Brown of the San Diego Police Department. "It's not getting any preferential treatment from us based on any of the parties that are involved."
Legal counsel for Kobe Bryant released a statement Tuesday afternoon: "Mr. Bryant is aware of the baseless allegations asserted against him, and is prepared to defend against them fully," said a statement issued by Mark Campbell of Loeb & Loeb LLP.
The Lakers said they were unable to make a statement due to the current NBA lockout.
