Free Gritty! Philly PD Clears Mascot

About two weeks ago, Gritty was accused of sucker-punching a 13-year-old Flyers fan in the back. The fan's father claimed that his son playfully patted Gritty on the head during a meet-and-greet / photo op, and the mascot retaliated by running full speed and punching the teen in the back.

It was the fan's word against that of the Flyers, as no other witnesses and no video footage was available. When the two couldn't come to an agreement, the Philadelphia Police Department got involved.

After an investigation, the Philly PD found the Gritty did nothing wrong, saying "the actions of the individual portraying the Flyers’ mascot did not constitute physical assault." It seems like something of an odd statement, in that they didn't deny that Gritty touched the teen, but saying what he did wasn't enough to be 'physical assault' - or maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

The Philadelphia Police Department says the investigation in closed. Chris Greenwell, the father of the teen, has apparently canceled his season tickets. The Flyers are currently in 4th place in the Eastern Metropolitan Division.