Bodycam Video Shows Marcell Ozuna Grab Wife By Neck As She Describes to Police Why She Threatened Him With Knife
Amy Dash
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Police have released body cam video capturing the moment they arrived to Braves star Marcell Ozuna’s house in response to a domestic violence call. The first few seconds captures Ozuna grabbing for and making contact with his wife’s neck and pushing her by her neck. The officer aggressively yells “get your hands off her. Get on the ground” and Ozuna puts his hands up and gets to the ground. The officer commands him “do not move” and later tells another officer “he was actively choking her when I walked up.”
The officer asks “what’s wrong with your arm,” noticing the cast on Ozuna from a recent injury that sidelined him. Ozuna says, “I play baseball” and the officer replies, “I know.”
Outside, Ozuna’s wife Genesis tells police she was on the phone calling the police on Ozuna when Ozuna returned and approached her and she grabbed a knife and held it up to Ozuna and said, “if you get any closer to me, we are going to have issues.”
She also told police, that when they walked in, Ozuna was hitting her on the hand with the phone and holding her by the neck. She said she was scared for her life due to a history of abuse.
The door was wide open when officers arrived.
Ozuna’s wife said the incident began over cheating claims. A full description of the events as dictated to police by Ozuna’s wife and Ozuna is below.
When news broke of his arrest back in May, responding officers had originally said Ozuna threw his wife up against a wall by the neck and arrested him on assault and strangulation charges. After seeing the body cam video, which does not show her being thrown up against a wall, prosecutors reduced charges to a pair of misdemeanors for family domestic violence. Ozuna entered a pre-trial diversion program and agreed to anger management courses and community service. The charges will be dismissed upon successful completion of the terms of his probation and agreement.
Major League Baseball found that he did violate its domestic violence policy and suspended him twenty games. However, since Ozuna was on administrative leave last season when the Braves went on to win the World Series, he has already served the full suspension. Ozuna will be eligible to return at the start of the 2022 season.
“Any instance of domestic violence is unacceptable, and we fully support the decision by the commissioner’s office regarding Marcell,” the Braves said after the suspension was announced.
The full bodycam video can be seen HERE.
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