Man arrested in Old Fourth Ward park dispute

ATLANTA — A woman says she was assaulted by a man after she confronted him for having his pit bulls off leash at a public park.

The woman, who asked not to be identified, told Channel 2's Amy Napier Viteri she was on a play date with several children at a skate park in Old Fourth Ward when the man told the children to play somewhere else, because his dogs were there first.

The woman told Viteri she was near the playground with two other moms and their young children when the incident took place.

She said one of the moms tried to reason with the man, but it only made things worse.

"He was being a little self-righteous that it was his park and he was there first and we needed to move," the woman said.

The woman said the group told the man he needed to put her dogs on a leash. She said when she pulled out her cellphone to get a picture of the man, he rushed toward her and slapped the phone out of her hand.

The woman's phone recorded the incident.

"You want a really good close up of me? It's right here. Right here," the man can be heard saying before hitting the phone.

Roxanna Zobava lives near the park and goes there often with her two dogs.

"That's absurd. He should be banned from the park," Zobava said.

"If you're going to hit a woman just because she's video recording you and taking a picture of you, that's just stupid in my opinion," another park-goer said.

The mother said she wants other parents to see the video to be able to avoid a similar confrontation with the man.

Atlanta police said officers arrested Louis Rivera, 53, on Friday and charged him with simple battery.

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WSBTV