Battered And Bloodied Dodgers Fan Claims Stadium Security Attacked Him Opening Day
NORCO (CBSLA) — Opening Day turned into a bad one for one Dodgers fan who is accusing stadium security of attacking him, but police say he is, himself, a suspect in a battery case.
Franco Rodriguez was at the Dodgers' season opener Thursday, when he says security officers tried to kick out another spectator. After deciding they were being a little aggressive with him, Rodriguez says he alerted a stadium employee.
"They were accusing him of doing something," Rodriguez told CBS2 News, adding that, admittedly, he should have minded his own business.
"The next thing you know, they come right back and say, 'Let's go, you guys gotta go, too,'" Rodriguez recalled. He says he tried to tell the security officers he wasn't with the booted fan, but they insisted he had to leave.
When he protested, "They put their hands on me, they punched me, they hit me, they marked my face," claims Rodriguez. "This is not kicking somebody out; this is beating on my face. They literally attacked me."
A photo provided to CBS2 by Rodriguez shows him with dried blood mostly on the side of his face. He also suffered a dislocated collarbone.
Rodriguez says he doesn't know if it was just the handful of officers that were out of control Opening Day, or if the team needs to look at their entire security protocol. Regardless, he says what happened to him was wrong.
"The aggressiveness that they were going about was not necessary," says Rodriguez, adding that despite being a lifelong Dodgers fan, he doesn't know if he can root for his team anymore — at least not in person.
"I will never stop being a Dodger fan, but going to a game? Never," said Rodriguez.
Although Rodriguez was not arrested or charged with a crime, the Los Angeles Police Department tells CBS2 they do consider him a suspect a possible battery case. They say they will present their findings to the L.A. City Attorney.
A Dodgers spokesman would only say they are investigating the matter and would not comment further Friday.
