BEREA, Ohio — A fan has been arrested for allegedly throwing a water bottle at Cleveland Browns owner Jimmy Haslam in the closing moments of Sunday’s loss to the New York Jets.
Jeffrey Miller, 51, was arrested Sunday on charges of assault, non-compliance with a lawful order and disorderly conduct, according to the police report.
The Browns plan to ban Miller from returning to FirstEnergy Stadium, a source told ESPN. NFL Network, which first reported the fan would be banned, captured a video of Haslam walking toward the Browns tunnel just as Jets receiver Garrett Wilson scored the winning touchdown in a 31-30 win over Cleveland. After the bottle hit Haslam, he looked up to find the fan who had thrown it.
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Police identified Miller as the suspect using video surveillance at the stadium and found him before he could leave the stadium. According to the police report, Miller did not stop when the police ordered him to. After apprehending him at the exit gate, police took Miller to the stadium’s police room. The police report noted that officers suspected Miller was intoxicated. He was then taken to the county jail.
“The safety of fans, players and staff is of the highest priority in our building and behavior that endangers others will not be tolerated,” the Browns said in a statement. “Fortunately, no one was injured in this incident and by default we have been working with law enforcement agencies and security video footage of the object being thrown is in the right hands. We will not comment further on this.”