Dodgers hit with 4 new lawsuits alleging excessive force by security
Los Angeles CA August 12 2023
The Los Angeles Dodgers are facing four new lawsuits alleging excessive force by security guards during incidents that occurred in 2021 and 2023.
The plaintiffs are seeking compensation for emotional distress and punitive damages in the claims filed this week.
In one case dating back to Aug. 17, 2021, Veronica alleges she was tackled by Dodgers security guards when she noticed they “swarmed” her brother and his girlfriend during a discussion.
“Why not warn him, ‘Hey, stop!’ but no, we were just tackled,” Veronica told KTLA.
She said she was left with a fractured knee.
“That’s traumatizing for anybody,” Veronica said. “Just having to be thrown out like that. I’ve never been treated like that.”
In an April 1, 2023 incident, Gregory Harker and Tammi Altamirano were confronted by six to eight security personnel asking what they were doing while they tried to return to their seats, a lawsuit alleges.
After an exchange of words, Altamirano alleges she was grabbed by her hair and jacket, and with her hands full of Dodgers merchandise, was thrown to the ground, causing her to lose consciousness.
When Harker tried to intervene, he, too was “grabbed and assaulted,” the lawsuit alleges.
The couple was handcuffed and taken to security holding cells, where Altamirano allegedly suffered convulsions due to the stress and injuries.
She was eventually taken to a hospital for treatment, while Harker was issued citations for battery on a security guard.
At the end of the game on April 17, 2023, D’Angelo Heredia was told by a group of security guards to move on while he was waiting for Audrey Perez to get out of the restroom.
Despite telling the guards he was waiting, they allegedly proceeded to throw him to the ground and knock him unconscious, a lawsuit alleges.
He was then picked up, handcuffed and assaulted again, Heredia alleges.
Perez started recording the incident upon leaving the restroom and was blocked by security while trying to reach Heredia, the lawsuit alleges.
She was also confronted by security who allegedly knocked her cellphone out of her hand, spraining her wrist and causing bruises and abrasions.
During a July 25 game, brothers Freddy and Raul Garcia Peregrino had given up their seats to a handicapped couple when they were approached by security personnel, who told them they were disrupting fans.
Security then allegedly surrounded the brothers and began to restrain and assault them, a lawsuit alleges.
They were removed from the stadium and pushed to the ground. Raul Garcia Peregrino was left with bruising on his shoulder and suffered a contusion to his head, the lawsuit alleges.
He was placed under citizen’s arrest and eventually taken to a police station, where he was released.
Freddy Garcia Peregrino suffered bruises and contusions to his knees, arms, elbow forehead and finger. He was left alone at the stadium since his brother was detained, and had to take an Uber back to his Inglewood home.
It’s not the first time the Dodgers have been sued over violent incidents involving security guards.
Three people alleged excessive force in three different incidents last April and July.
Team management says they do not comment on pending legal matters.
