A Washington, D.C. firefighter is on leave after a viral social media video showed him punching a usher at Nationals Park during Tuesday night’s game between the Nationals and the Atlanta Braves.
London Metropolitan Police have identified the man as 54-year-old Christopher Sullivan of West Virginia. He was arrested and charged with assault after a video showed him shouting obscenities and punching an usher who was trying to escort him out of the park.
The fight began when an usher asked Sullivan, who was sitting in the non-ticketed section, to return to his ticketed seat.
Sullivan was reportedly asked to return to his seat multiple times before finally being told he had to leave.
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The audience in the video can be heard yelling “get out of here dude” and “you have to go”.
When Sullivan turned around and punched the man in the face, the usher used his body to force Sullivan up the stairs and kick him out of the section.
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Sullivan, a DC Fire and EMS firefighter, was already on pay leave following the Aug. 31 incident, Fox 5 DC reports.
I received the following explanation from the department:
“The behavior witnessed in the video is absolutely unacceptable. On September 27, 2022, our department was notified that an employee of our agency was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department and charged with simple assault. Prior to this incident, the individual was on leave of absence, with pay, pending the outcome of internal personnel processes.
According to NBC Washington, Sullivan was reportedly fired from the department “several years ago” but has since been reinstated.
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The Nationals banned Sullivan from the ballpark for five years after the incident.