The family of Brian Stow, the man who was beaten into a coma at a baseball game recently, is suing the Los Angeles Dodgers. Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan, was assaulted by a group of Dodgers fans while attending a game in Los Angeles and left in a comatose state. Only a single arrest has been made.
Arrest made in Brian Stow beating case
The Los Angeles Police Department made an arrest in the Brian Stow beating case recently, according to the Los Angeles Times. Giovanni Ramirez, 31, was arrested by the LAPD on suspicion of being one of the two assailants that beat Brian Stow, who has remained in critical condition since he was attacked March 31. Two men were observed verbally taunting Stow until one blindsided him, apparently for the audacity of wearing a Giants jersey. After he fell to the ground, he was repeatedly kicked, even after he had been beaten unconscious. Ramirez, a known gang member, has three prior felony convictions and is being charged with assault with a deadly weapon, as he kicked the victim nearly to death.
Dodgers face lawsuit
The Stow family is filing a lawsuit against the Dodgers organization for failing to provide adequate security, according to ESPN. The attorney for the Stow family asserts that the Dodgers organization was derelict in its responsibility to ensure the safety of fans at Dodgers’ stadium. Immediately after the incident, the Dodgers began hiring more security personnel, including former LAPD officials to oversee security details. There have been similar problems among drunk and unruly Dodgers fans before, and it is claimed that many similar “problem fans” are gang members. Ramirez was identified by his parole officer, who noticed he bore a resemblance to a sketch of one of the two assailants. The other man remains at large. Stow has since been able to open his eyes and has some movement in his arms and legs, according to CNN.
Sports and violence
There is a long history of violence among sports fans. For instance, the Nika riots of 532 A.D., according to Wikipedia, was a weeklong period of rioting that broke out in Constantinople, where two rival factions of chariot racing fans created such chaos in the capital that half the city was burned to the ground and more than 10,000 were killed before the army slaughtered the rioters. Violence has been a problem in Europe among soccer fans for some time. Fans rioted at the end of April in Greece, according to Fox News, at the conclusion of the Greek professional soccer championship. Polish soccer fans rioted on May 3 after the end of the Polish Cup Final match, according to the Daily Mail, and had to be subdued by riot police after invading the field, setting the stadium on fire and assaulting players.
Sources
Los Angeles Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dodgers-20110523,0,2773021.story
ESPN: http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/mlb/news/story?id=6584013&campaign=rss&source=MLBHeadlines
CNN: http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-19/justice/california.fan.beaten_1_billboard-campaign-brutal-attack-parking-lot?_s=PM:CRIME
Nika Riots: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nika_riots
Fox News: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2011/05/02/aek-fan-club-torched-2-days-cup-final-riots/
Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1383480/Concerns-hooliganism-Poland-football-cup-final-ends-mass-riot.html
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