It was the top of the 9th inning, the Cincinnati Reds were down by 3 to the Cleveland Guardians who were at bat—the last thing the Reds needed was a steal. The crowd, amply inebriated by the 3-2-1 ($3 beers, $2 hot dogs, $1 ice cream) Tuesday night promotion at the Great American Ball Park, jeered their team on.
That’s when William Hendon ran onto the field.
Hendon, wearing his Johnny Bench jersey, booked it for Reds outfielder Tyler Freeman for a high-five. Freeman, holding his composure, seemed to exchange a few words with Hendon, denying him a high-five, before Hendon ran off with two cops on his tail.
Hendon seized the moment as one of the cops, only feet away now and readying his taser, to execute a perfectly arced backflip. The crowd roared with excitement.
Hendon knocked the cop’s hat off and for a split second the pursuit continued before he was ultimately tased and subdued.
Fans called the tasering unnecessary, praising Hendon, who is now facing felony trespassing and misdemeanor obstructing official business charges, according to The Cincinnati Inquirer.
Hendon pleaded not guilty to all charges on Wednesday morning during his arraignment in which he was still wearing his jersey.
“Everybody thinks you landed that backflip,” Municipal Court Judge William Mallory said to Hendon during the hearing, according to The Cincinnati Inquirer. Mallory clearly did not watch the video, Hendon implied when he responded, “I’m pretty sure I did.”
Cincinnati police Lt. Jonathan Cunningham said the police’s response “allowed the game to continue uninterrupted,” adding the department will look into the officer’s usage of the taser, according to The Inquirer.
Hendon further received a temporary suspension from the Great American Ball Park and will have a pretrial hearing on July 3, according to The Inquirer.
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