LOS ANGELES – A Dodger Stadium patron has sued the team over injuries he alleges he suffered after being attacked by fans and security officers in a parking lot after a 2022 game.
Donald Williams’ Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit alleges negligence, premises liability, negligent hiring, retention and supervision, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, assault battery, and false imprisonment. Williams seeks unspecified damages in the suit brought Friday.
A Dodger spokesman said the team does not comment on pending litigation.
Williams attended a game last July 26 between the Dodgers and Washington Nationals with a nearly sellout crowd present, the suit states. The score was close until the ninth inning, when the Nationals scored four runs and ultimately won the game, 8-3, causing many Dodger fans to become “upset and unruly,” the suit states.
Williams and his girlfriend left about 10:15 p.m. and were about 40 to 50 feet outside the stadium when he was “brutally attacked by other fans for unknown reasons,” causing him to fall to the ground in a defensive position, the suit states.
“Despite the fact that the brutal and vicious attack took place over a prolonged period of time and drew the attention of various other patrons, no security was present or intervened,” the suit alleges.
Security officers did not arrive until several minutes later and when Williams finally stood up, he, is girlfriend and other witnesses tried to tell the guards that he was the victim of an assault, the suit states.
Rather than provide aid to plaintiff, the security guards allegedly attacked the plaintiff, placing him in a headlock, slammed him to the ground, smashed his face, shoulders, and knees into the pavement and handcuffed him, the suit states.
The officers held Williams on the ground for about 15 minutes while he was bleeding from his nose and face and was struggling to breathe, according to the suit.
A security supervisor later arrived and told the other officers to take off Williams’ handcuffs, explaining that the persons who had attacked Williams had been caught, the suit states.
Williams suffered a broken nose, a torn muscle in his arm, injuries to his intervertebral discs and other serious injuries, the suit states.
According to the suit, security personnel levels that were cut back before the new ownership bought the team in 2012 have never been fully restored due to “financial turmoil and/or undercapitalization of the organization.”
In addition, over the years there have been many high-profile lawsuits alleging Dodger security officers have been overly aggressive, yet the team has not taken meaningful action to stop such behavior, the suit states.
The current team ownership has failed to hire adequate security personnel, including uniformed sworn officers, despite knowledge of gang presence and criminal activity on Dodger Stadium property, the suit states.
Photo source: Depositphotos
