A Texas man who plays the Easter Bunny at Lakeline Mall says accusations that he purposely threw a child off his lap during a photo session are false and it was all a misunderstanding, MyFOXAustin reports.
Officials have released two 911 calls made right after the incident happened.
Paul Clough was arrested Friday after he became irritated while posing with children for photographs and allegedly placed an 8-month-old baby on the ground. Sometime during that process, the baby was injured and suffered a bruise to his forehead, MyFOXAustin reports.
Police are still investigating if the injury was accidental or intentional. The baby's parents took him to the hospital, where he was treated and released.
"We don't want to charge someone without having all the facts," Austin Police Sgt. Brian Loyd told MyFOXAustin.
Police say the Child Abuse Unit is interviewing the crowds of witnesses who were waiting in line, as well as collecting pictures of injuries and surveillance tapes, MyFOXAustin reports.
Several parents waiting in line for pictures say the child's mother was upset.
"The stories are conflicted about what happened with the child," Loyd told MyFOXAustin. "There are so many different reports. I've heard that he pushed the child down, that he dropped the child, tripped with the child."
Clough insists the incident is a misunderstanding, but he might be charged with injury to a child, which could be a second-degree felony, MyFOXAustin reports.
Said Clough: "If other costume characters were willing to speak out, they would also say similar stories."
Click here to read more on this story and listen to the 911 tapes at MyFOXAustin.com.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox