Tampabay: Bucs fan disputes account of arrest

Hillsborough County sheriff's officials say Marshall dumped the beer on Deputy Chris Baumann's head during the Buccaneers-Packers game Nov. 24 at Raymond James Stadium.

Marshall says he wasn't even holding a brew when deputies approached him, threw him to the ground and arrested him.

"I've never been in a fight, even in high school," said the 43-year-old accountant from Largo. "My dad taught me that all cops are good cops. I am dumbfounded about this."

The State Attorney's Office in Hillsborough is considering whether to file charges.

If convicted of the deputy's recommendations -- felony battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest without violence and disorderly intoxication -- Marshall will lose his CPA license and his ability to volunteer at his children's school.

He says he has suffered nightmares since the game and refuses to return to the stadium, although he has season tickets to both the Bucs' and the University of South Florida Bulls' games.

Marshall is planning to take out ads in local newspapers, seeking witnesses to the scuffle.

"No sane person is going to be spending thousands of dollars to find witnesses to seal his fate," said John Trevena, his attorney.

Everyone agrees that the dispute started during the game's fourth quarter, when the Bucs were winning 14-7.

Marshall was at the game with a friend, a vice president of investment at Raymond James Financial. They spent the first three quarters quaffing a few Miller Lites and eating snacks.

Then, with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Marshall left his seat to go to the men's restroom. His friend, Mike Muehleck, noticed that Marshall left his beer by his seat.

"He had half a beer sitting there," Muehleck said. "I was surprised, thinking, 'What a waste.' "

Marshall says he was returning from the restroom when he playfully tapped the hat of a Green Bay Packers fan as he walked by.

Terry Dixon, an off-duty sheriff's deputy, saw something different.

According to a sheriff's report, he saw Marshall "knocking the ball caps off opposing team fans."

Marshall says Dixon started yelling at him -- "I thought he was an irate Packers fan" -- so he walked toward a uniformed officer who was standing nearby.

Marshall says he told the deputy that he was being harassed by Dixon, which is when the deputy, Baumann, and Dixon slammed him to the ground.

Baumann says that isn't true. In a report, he wrote that he grabbed a hostile Marshall by the back of the belt and tried to escort him out of the stadium.

"(Marshall) spun around and poured beer from a cup on (my) hat, face and shirt," Baumann wrote.

Baumann says he took Marshall to the ground, but Marshall refused to be handcuffed. Two other deputies showed up and help subdue Marshall, according to the report.

Marshall says he wasn't carrying a beer, but he acknowledges refusing to put his hands behind his back. He says he was using them to shield his face from the asphalt.

Deputies took Marshall to the stadium's holding cell, where paramedics tended to a cut near his left eye. Marshall says he also suffered five lumps on his head and a black eye.

He was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail, where he registered a .10 percent blood alcohol level on a breath test. Florida law states that a person is legally impaired at .08 percent.

Muehleck says he was a little surprised when his friend didn't return to his seat, but assumed that Marshall would meet him at the car.

When Marshall didn't show up at the car 45 minutes later, Muehleck asked a Tampa police officer at the stadium whether anyone had been taken to the hospital or to jail. Muehleck said the officer said no.

Soon after, Marshall's fiance got a call from Marshall, and she and Muehleck paid a $3,050 bond to spring him from jail.

According to a sheriff's spokesman, officers stationed at Bucs' games only arrest people who are egregiously drunk or extremely rowdy.

"After working the stadium for 22 of my 25 years, I can tell you that the Sheriff's Office is very tolerant before making an arrest," Lt. Rod Reder said.

Marshall has been arrested one other time in Florida; in 1998, he was charged by the Largo Police Department for driving under the influence of alcohol. Trevena said the charge was reduced to reckless driving.

-- Times researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Tamara Lush covers crime in Hillsborough County. She can be reached at (813) 226-3373 or lush@sptimes.com.

Back to Tampa Bay area news
Back

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Mary Jo Melone

Howard Troxler

Headlines
From the Times
local news desks