BEAVERCREEK — New details about a movie theater assault during a “Joker” screening last week were revealed in body camera footage News Center 7 obtained from the Beavercreek Police Department.
Officers arrested Shane Mathew Christopher after they said he got physical with the Cinemark manager and a security guard at The Greene.
>> RELATED: Movie patron’s behavior during ‘Joker’ magnifies intense moment at Beavercreek theater
Christopher was charged with assault and disorderly conduct, according to an incident report.
It all started when a manager asked Christopher to turn off his cellphone. Soon after, police said he became violent.
In the body camera footage, the manager told police what happened. “This guy, I went in and told him to turn his cellphone off. He got me, shoved me, got an attitude with me. So I backed off, went by and he turned it off.”
The employee confronted Christopher again because he was back on his phone, he told police.
“He slapped me across the head. So we said, ‘no, you’re definitely leaving.’ By the time I could do that my security guard was behind me. He started fighting me, hitting me, slapping him,” he said.
The manager said he was grateful for the help from others in the theater.
“Two guys in the auditorium helped me because they could see it was getting out of control,” he said.
>> Driver runs from scene of crash, leaves injured passenger behind
While an officer was talking to Christopher, he noted a strong smell of alcohol coming from him and that Christopher was slurring his words, according to an incident report.
Police questioned Christopher, with some confusing results.
“What’s your name, pal?” the officer said in the body camera footage.
“I’m the joker,” he said.
“Huh?” the officer said.
“The joker is what he said,” the manager said.
Ultimately police put Christopher in the squad car.
After requesting a medic, Christopher was taken to Kettering Medical Center, where he continued to refuse to follow orders and was verbally abusive to hospital staff, according to the report.
The incident resulted in a tense moment for other moviegoers.
People in the theater stayed and watched the rest of the movie.
>> Rescuers looking for missing plane piloted by former Kettering surgeon
“Immediately at the end of the movie, before the credits started rolling, they turned it off, lights came on, manager came out, apologized to the patrons, apologized for the altercation,” witness Kellee Crossley of Xenia said.
Everyone in the theater that night was given a voucher for a free movie, she said.
