Man taking pictures of Witherspoon cited for assault

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) _ A photographer who tried to snap Reese Witherspoon at the California Adventure theme park was cited for allegedly assaulting two employees, police said. <br/><br/>Todd Wallace, 44,

Wednesday, September 7th 2005, 10:53 am

By: News On 6

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) _ A photographer who tried to snap Reese Witherspoon at the California Adventure theme park was cited for allegedly assaulting two employees, police said.

Todd Wallace, 44, of Beverly Hills, was cited for misdemeanor assault and battery Friday and probably will appear in court next month, Sgt. Rick Martinez said.

There was no phone listing for a Todd Wallace in Beverly Hills.

Wallace was photographing Witherspoon from a distance and then moved in on a group that included the actress and some children, Martinez said.

``It did not become an issue until he got close to the group and became aggressive, frightening members of the party,'' the sergeant said.

An employee accompanying the group tried to get them away from the photographer but Wallace ``pushed her with his entire body, not just once but numerous times,'' Martinez said Tuesday.

Wallace also allegedly assaulted a second employee, Martinez said. He was cited and released.

Witherspoon, star of ``Legally Blonde'' and ``Sweet Home Alabama,'' told police in April that photographers had swarmed her car when she left a Brentwood gym, tried to force her off the road and surrounded her when she reached the gated community in West Los Angeles where she lives with her husband, actor Ryan Phillippe, and their two children.

Photographers told police they approached Witherspoon outside the gym only to tell her that one of their colleagues had scraped her vehicle. Authorities declined to file criminal charges.