Man Accused of Pepper-Spraying Moviegoer Over Phone Becomes Unlikely Online Hero
A moviegoer accused of turning a cellphone dispute into a pepper-spray incident has become an unlikely hero to some people online — even after the confrontation sent other patrons to a hospital and ended with his arrest.
Burbank police arrested 34-year-old Los Angeles resident Matthew Ware at AMC Burbank 16 on Sept. 15 on suspicion of misdemeanor battery. NBC Los Angeles reported that officers were called to the theater around 5:30 p.m. after Ware allegedly sprayed another patron who had been using a cellphone during a movie.
The exposure did not end with the patron Ware is accused of spraying. Two other moviegoers reported irritation and were treated at a hospital, according to the same report.
Meanwhile, the argument over what happened inside the auditorium quickly moved online. A post highlighted by KTLA collected more than 35,000 likes in 17 hours as commenters alternated between condemning the alleged attack and praising Ware for confronting a familiar theater annoyance.
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Moviegoer Joe Rodriguez gave a firsthand account of the disruption in a Reddit post. He said he was watching “The Uprising” in the Dolby auditorium when, about 40 minutes into the film, he heard the hiss of an aerosol can from several rows behind him.
Then someone yelled that he had been pepper-sprayed.
Rodriguez said the person who deployed the spray ran out of the auditorium while members of the affected group followed. He went to alert the theater staff. In his account, the movie initially kept playing despite the smell of pepper spray in the back of the auditorium.
Rodriguez also wrote that, from what he could tell, the phone’s brightness had been turned down and he had not heard an argument before the spray was discharged. Those observations describe what Rodriguez experienced from his seat; they do not establish everything that happened between Ware and the other patron before the confrontation.
CBS Los Angeles later interviewed Rodriguez, who said Ware had first asked the patron to turn off the phone and the patron refused. CBS reported that police said Ware became upset and then allegedly used the spray. Rodriguez said the theater offered refunds after the incident.
House Rules
AMC already has a prescribed response for exactly the problem that apparently started the dispute. The company’s theater policy says talking, disruptive behavior, and electronic-device use are not permitted during a movie and tells patrons to alert theater staff when they have a concern.
AMC separately asks guests not to operate devices that emit light or sound during screenings. Its code of conduct also says dangerous and disruptive behavior is not tolerated.
That distinction showed up repeatedly in the online reaction. Some commenters treated Ware as a stand-in for every moviegoer who has sat behind a bright screen. Others pointed out that the alleged response affected people who had nothing to do with the phone dispute.
In The Air
Pepper spray can make that collateral exposure difficult to contain indoors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says chemical irritants used in products such as pepper spray can cause immediate burning and irritation of the eyes, skin, nose, mouth, and lungs. Exposure effects depend in part on concentration, duration, and whether the release happened indoors or outdoors.
The CDC advises people exposed indoors to go outside and get into fresh air. The agency says most effects are short-lived after a person gets away from the source and is decontaminated, though heavier or prolonged exposure can cause more serious problems.
Legal Limits
California law permits qualifying adults to possess and use aerosol tear-gas weapons for self-defense, but the permission has a sharp boundary. Penal Code Section 22810 says use outside self-defense is a public offense.
That statute is context only. Police reported booking Ware on suspicion of misdemeanor battery; the sources reviewed do not say he was booked under Section 22810.
Ware was released the following morning. ABC7 reported, citing Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department inmate records, that his release was recorded at 7:22 a.m. on Sept. 16.
