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Atlanta Braves star Marcell Ozuna had his hand aggressively wrapped around his wife’s neck just minutes before his arrest last May … new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.
The incident all went down on May 29 in Sandy Springs, GA., after cops say they were called to a residence regarding “an assault in progress.”
In an officer’s bodycam footage from the scene, you can see as the cop arrived at the home, Ozuna grabbed his wife around her throat with his right hand.
“Get your hands off her!” the officer can be heard telling the 6-foot-1, 225-pound MLB player in the footage. “Get on the ground! Get on the ground!”
Ozuna — who was wearing a hard cast on his left hand due to an injury he had suffered in a game just days before the incident — complied, and was eventually arrested.
In police documents, cops say Ozuna’s wife told them the altercation had all begun over cheating claims.
Ozuna was initially hit with felony charges over the incident, including aggravated assault by strangulation. But, the counts were eventually reduced to misdemeanor family violence charges — and Ozuna agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion program to close out the case.
Ozuna was ordered to, among other things, complete at least 200 hours of community service as well as take an anger management course. He was also placed on six months of supervision.
The outfielder was ultimately suspended by the MLB over it all this week, getting hit with a 20-game ban — although because the punishment was retroactive in nature, Ozuna is now eligible to return as soon as the 2022 season begins.
“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 MLB announced the suspension.
“We are encouraged to know that Marcell has accepted full responsibility for his actions and is taking the necessary measures to learn and grow from the situation.”
We’ve reached out to both the MLB and the Braves following the release of the police video, but so far, no word back yet.
Ozuna — who missed the Braves’ World Series run this year while dealing with the hand injury as well as the criminal investigation — signed a four-year, $65 million contract with Atlanta this past February.