Cincinnati Reds Fan Shows Up To Court In Jersey After Being Tased, Arrested For Running On Field

On Tuesday night, a Cincinnati Reds fan went viral on social media after a legendary run on the field at Great American Ballpark.

William Hendon, a 19 year-old student at Ohio State University, stole the show during Tuesday’s Reds home game against the Cleveland Guardians. He ran onto the field and evaded police officers by landing a backflip.

Immediately after the backflip, he was tased and arrested on felony criminal trespass and obstructing official business, a misdemeanor. According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, the judge reduced Hendon's criminal trespassing count to a misdemeanor, at the behest of prosecutors, because he was wrongly charged with a felony.

Hendon appeared in court on Wednesday at 9 a.m. Eastern, hilariously wearing the same Reds jersey that he was wearing during the time of his arrest.

“Everybody thinks you landed that backflip," Municipal Court Judge William Mallory said.

"I'm pretty sure I did," Hendon replied.

Hendon pleaded not guilty and is due back in court for his pretrial hearing on July 3. He did, however, land that backflip. The judge dismissed him from jail on his own recognizance. 

As a result of this stunt, he is banned from Great American Ballpark.

Running on the field typically has an unfortunate ending for the individual pulling the stunt, but the judge seemed somewhat forgiving of this harmless stunt, which was encouraging to see.

The police officer who eventually caught Hendon was completely outmatched and likely left baffled by the backflip. As someone who has watched plenty of sports, and consequently seen a handful of streakers, the use of the taser did seem a little bit excessive, but otherwise, the officer probably never stood a chance against the much faster Hendon. The chase would still be going on.

Cincinnati police Lieutenant Jonathan Cunningham said in a statement via the Cincinnati Enquirer that the department will investigate the officer's use of a taser to slow down Hendon’s epic run.

"The officers' quick response allowed the game to continue uninterrupted for the players and fans in attendance," Cunningham said in a statement.

Regardless of whatever the police investigation finds, it does seem a little soft to pull a taser on the kid. Man up and tackle him like every other officer does. He was clearly harmless. He landed an incredible backflip and got his 15 seconds of fame. The judge even acknowledged that.

"You're a star, Mr. Hendon, you got your 15 minutes of fame," Mallory said.