Fight between cops and possibly drunk fan at Heat game covers a few rows of seats
An altercation between two Miami police officers and a 23-year-old man resulted in all three tumbling down three rows of AmericanAirlines Arena seats at Wednesday night’s Miami Heat game.
It also resulted in Adrain Mato spending the night with Miami-Dade Corrections on charges of battery on a police officer, resisting an officer with violence, disorderly conduct and disorderly intoxication. Mato’s bond was set at $5,250.
The arrest affidavit version of what happened at the top of Section 102: The officer told Mato to calm down and stop yelling, but, still, Mato persisted. He also “reached in an aggressive manner towards one of the patrons standing within arms reach.”
Mato sat down, then stood up to resume yelling at another person in the stands, the officer “noticed that (Mato) had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage in his breath as well as he had a slurred speech as he yelled in Spanish.”
The officer requested backup while threatening to kick Mato out of the arena if he didn’t quiet down. Shortly after the second officer arrived, Matos’ volume and fighting stance convinced them to toss him from the arena.
“As (the officers) attempted to escort him off the property, (Mato) pulled backwards to attempt to get away from the officers,” the report reads. “As the officers attempted to get hold of (Mato), due to (Mato’s) actions, (they) fell with the defendant rolling down the flight of stairs. (Mato) continued his aggressive behavior once they came to a stop.”
After the fall, the report says the five-foot-seven, 150-pound Mato still was able to assume a “fighting stance” and swung at one of the officers. He also elbowed an officer in the stomach in the scuffle and refused to listen to officers shouting at him to stop.
Video taken by a fan shows Mato arguing with a man sitting in the row behind him while being gently restrained from behind by a friend in a Chicago Bulls shirt. As a Miami police officer approaches off camera, the man points Mato out then sits down.
Mato also eventually sits down as an officer arrives, but turns to continue running his mouth at the man behind him, despite the efforts of his Bulls-shirt wearing friend and a woman with Mato. He rises briefly as he reaches a verbal crescendo, then retakes his seat, all the while continuing the stream of anger.
The man behind Mato gives him a quick middle finger, visibly infuriating Mato. After a while, Mato’s friend and the woman with him seem to be asking the men behind them to let Mato calm down.
The video fades to two Miami officers, standing in the row below Mato, holding one arm each as they try to get him to leave.
Eventually, they jerk him to his feet and down to their row. Mato fights back and the three go bumping down at least three rows.
This story was originally published January 31, 2019 at 1:00 PM.
