Jury finds Six Flags security falsely held man, awards him $250,000
Prince Gorge County MD June 6, 2022 A jury has awarded a Maryland man $250,000 after finding that security guards at Six Flags America had falsely imprisoned him on Father’s Day four years ago after his frantic search for his son, according to his lawyers.
Nicholaus Mims, of Prince George’s County, Md., had rushed shirtless from the Hurricane Harbor area of the amusement park to look for his missing 12-year-old son during a family outing in 2018, according to a lawsuit Mims filed against Six Flags that year.
After combing the crowds at the 500-acre park, Mims finally spotted his son playing arcade games. He said security guards had told him on a couple occasions while he was searching that he was in violation of park rules because he wore no shirt, but they allowed him to continue. Another employee pressed the issue later, and Mims said he was waiting for his wife to bring him his shirt, according to his lawsuit. The employee called security guards, who told him he had to leave the park.
Mims reacted with frustration and profanity at times as the events unfolded, according to a statement from his lawyers.
After he made his way out of the park, Mims said, security guards slammed his head against the pavement, an allegation denied by the company.
Mims was also photographed on the ground with a guard’s hand around his neck and he was handcuffed by Six Flags security until Prince George’s County police arrived and freed him, according to his lawyers, Donald Huskey and Governor Jackson III.
Mims sued Six Flags that July.
Six Flags denied all of his claims in court documents. A company spokesman said at the time said “we believe this lawsuit has no merit.”
The jury first found in favor of Mims in 2019, ordering Six Flags to pay him $800,000.
But the company successfully appealed over a procedural issue in the trial.
In its 2021 order for a new trial, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland noted “several verbal exchanges occurred between security and Mims. A struggle and altercation occurred at the park exit where Mims’ head hit the ground.”
In the Friday verdict, the jury did not find Six Flags liable for assault or battery, saying instead that Mims had been subject to false arrest and imprisonment, Jackson said.
Representatives for Six Flags did not respond to requests for comment Saturday.
