A Braves fan faces a felony charge after he broke a glass panel in SunTrust Park during Thursday’s playoff game against the St. Louis Cardinals, an incident which he said was an accident.
Larry William Zimmerman, 51, of Athens, told Channel 2 Action News he was cheering on the Braves during Game 1 of the National League Division Series when he accidentally shattered the glass. Cellphone video obtained by Channel 2 captured the moment the glass shattered.
“It’s an exciting moment. I’m cheering. The whole section is cheering, and I slap my hands — open hands,” he said. “You can hear my wedding ring, ‘clink, clink, clink,’ and amazingly, the glass shatters.”
He told Channel 2 a security guard made him leave his seat in section 329 and then put him in handcuffs. According to the arrest warrant, Zimmerman intentionally damaged the barrier by kicking and punching it.
“Earlier in the game with (Dallas) Keuchel pitching, we were screaming, ‘Keuchel, Keuchel,’ and we would kick the barrier, ‘Boom. Boom. Boom,’” he told the news station.
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He was arrested by Cobb County police and charged with a count of second-degree criminal damage to property, Cobb jail records show. He was released from jail on a $4,070 bond.
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Cobb County Sheriff's Office
He maintains that the incident was an accident and hopes the charge will be dropped, adding that he doesn’t think the glass barrier is safe.
“There’s a safety issue,” he said. “What if I had been there with my granddaughter? (She) could easily stand there and bang on the wall like this ... the way the wedding ring just hit it — it’s physics. I get that, but that still doesn’t seem completely safe.”
A Braves spokesperson told Channel 2 that the glass is safe and has been broken only twice in the past three years. No one was injured during either incident.
Zimmerman has been banned from SunTrust Park for a year because of the incident, Channel 2 reported.
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