MLB Fan Awarded $105,000 After Jury Finds Off-duty Officer Acted with Malice, Fraud, or Oppression
(Editor’s Note: The following was written by Dr. Gil Fried, Professor, University of West Florida, and the editor of Sports Facilities and the Law. For the full story, and others like it, subscribe for free to SFL.)
Case Summary: When stadium security personnel questioned an attendee’s behavior at a Major League Baseball (MLB) team’s home opener, Plaintiff verbally intervened to defend his fellow fan. Security responded by ejecting both men from the stadium and denied Plaintiff information about why he was ejected. Outside the stadium exit, a fight broke out between Plaintiff and security personnel employed by the MLB team, including several off-duty police officers. During this altercation, Plaintiff sustained a head injury.
Expert Analysis: The incident began when stadium security personnel addressed an attendee seated near Plaintiff about possible use of marijuana. Plaintiff became increasingly agitated as he was ejected along with the other attendee. Testimony about the altercation that occurred differed between Plaintiff and the security personnel involved.
One officer indicated that Plaintiff took a swing at him and hit him on the chin. Plaintiff, however, claimed he swung and missed. The officer responded by striking Plaintiff several times in the torso. Plaintiff was then forcefully subdued. As officers brought him down to the ground to be handcuffed, Plaintiff hit his head against the fence and was injured. Video of the incident shows one officer had his knee on or close to Plaintiff’s neck and Plaintiff is heard shouting, “I can’t breathe.” However, all the off-duty officers testified in deposition that they had not put their knee on Plaintiff’s neck, nor heard him shouting that he could not breathe.
Plaintiff’s counsel retained a sport, facility, and crowd management expert to provide analysis centered around three primary questions:
- Did the stadium apply adequate crowd management techniques?
- Were security personnel properly screened before hire?
- Were security personnel properly trained before their first day on the job?