WASHINGTON — A man accused of punching and biting an usher at a Nationals game Tuesday says he reacted after he was touched by the stadium worker's hands and body.
Christopher Sullivan, 54, of Charles Town West Virginia has been banned from Nationals Park for five years after the Tuesday night incident, according to the Nats.
Sullivan accuses the stadium's ushers of being the "aggressors."
Sullivan was arrested and charged with simple assault, according to a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) report.
A viral video posted to Twitter shows the encounter which ends with Sullivan punching and biting the usher, then being confronted by MPD officers.
The police report says Sullivan was shouting obscenities Tuesday night and refusing requests from ballpark ushers to leave a section where he was not seated.
In the video, the usher can be seen using his body to block and push Sullivan out of the section before Sullivan lashes out and MPD officers rush in to pull him away.
Sullivan told WUSA9 he entered the lower section near the Braves dugout to look for a friend with season tickets. While there, Sullivan said he heckled Braves player Marcell Ozuna, which drew the attention of guest services workers.
Sullivan claims the workers were the "aggressors."
"If he had not interacted with me I would have been on my way," Sullivan said.
Sullivan responded to an email from WUSA9 saying:
“For the record, the Nationals park employee who’s being reported as the victim is called a guest service representative (a fancier name for an usher) and I can assure you it’s not in his job description to place his hands or body on any fans.”
Many fans took an opposite view.
“It ruins it for everyone. One person is all it takes. It's unfortunate to see at such a nice park," said fan Ryan Lippe Friday after seeing the video.
Sullivan is a DC Fire/EMS employee, according to that agency.
The department issued a statement calling the incident “absolutely unacceptable” and also saying, “Prior to this incident, the individual was on administrative leave with pay, pending the outcome of an internal personnel process.”
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