BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Beverly Hills police are treating a late night confrontation between tabloid photographers and man identified as former U.S. Sen. John Edwards as a "civil dispute" and leaving his name out of official reports.

Photographers from the National Enquirer say they chased Edwards as he was leaving the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel after 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 22.

The Enquirer reported Edwards was visiting a mistress with whom he had a child this year. Edwards has dismissed the stories as "lies" and "tabloid trash" but avoided reporters with questions about them.

Enquirer photographers Alexander Hitchen of New York and Alan Butterfield of Salt Lake City filed a police report with the city of Beverly Hills. The photographers say Edwards locked himself in the men's room and security later escorted him out of the hotel. One of the photographers say a security guard threatened to break his camera if he took pictures.

A police report refers to Edwards as a "political figure" but does not name him.

Reports of Edwards' unexplained late night visit to the hotel became fodder for jokes on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

The reports have divided North Carolinians. Edwards' supporters dismiss them as unproven, sensationalistic and overly personal. His opponents, including bloggers and radio talk show hosts, accuse the "main stream media" of partisanship for not reporting them.