Crime On The Rise At Dodger Stadium

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No Charges Filed in Brawl Near Ballpark

Four people were stabbed, and three went to the hospital, as a result
of the fight Sunday night on a street outside the stadium, near the
entrance to the Pasadena Freeway.

By Andrew Blankstein
Times Staff Writer

August 3, 2005

Prosecutors declined to press charges Tuesday against three men
arrested in connection with a violent altercation, in which four people
were stabbed, between men police said were unlicensed merchandise
vendors and private security guards outside Dodger Stadium last Sunday.

At the same time, Los Angeles police detectives were examining whether
guards, who were hired by the Dodgers' merchandising vendors, triggered
the clash by handling the outside vendors roughly, said two LAPD
sources who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Two of the vendors, who were being held in lieu of $35,000 bail, were
scheduled to be released late Tuesday, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman
with the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. Authorities
said a third man continues to be held on outstanding traffic warrants.

Robison declined to say why prosecutors rejected the case.

Four people were stabbed, and three went to the hospital, as a result
of the fight Sunday night on a street outside the stadium, near the
entrance to the Pasadena Freeway.

There are conflicting accounts about exactly what happened. Mark
Farrell, head of corporate security for New York-based SportsService,
the Dodgers' merchandising vendor, said his guards had been working all
season to curb illegal merchandise sales in and around the ballpark.

The way Farrell tells it, the incident began after several guards, who
work for Black Hawk Security, confiscated allegedly counterfeit
T-shirts from unlicensed vendors. (The guards don't work for the
Dodgers' private security force, which patrols other parts of the
stadium property).

When the vendors began to berate them, the guards started to return to
their golf cart to leave, Farrell said.

Then a guard was "hit in the eye and knocked to the ground," he said.

Another guard tried to aid the man, but an unidentified vendor pulled a
knife and began swinging, cutting the second guard on the thumb, he
said.

The third security guard drove up in the golf cart and was stabbed in
the shoulder as he tried to extricate his colleagues, Farrell said.

But one man who said he witnessed the fight and spoke on the condition
of anonymity for fear of retaliation, said the security guards appeared
to provoke the incident by grabbing the T-shirts and wrestling a vendor
to the ground.

"The three guys tried to take the shirts away from a vendor and had him
on the ground face-down," said the man, who added that he was leaving
the Dodgers-Cardinals game when he saw the melee.

"The other vendors came to his assistance and that was when the melee
started," he said.

The Sunday clash came as the Dodgers had been beefing up security to
deal with several incidents of unruly behavior at the stadium. A review
of LAPD statistics shows a modest uptick in some crimes at the stadium
complex.

Stadium officials said Monday that an increase in crime reports in the
area was due to get-tough policies at the stadium, better crime
reporting and additional security - including uniformed, off-duty
LAPD officers - rather than an actual increase in incidents.

"The Dodgers are not going to tolerate inappropriate behavior in the
stadium or on Dodger Stadium property," said Marty Greenspun, the
team's executive vice president and chief operating officer. "We are
working with the LAPD to enforce our fan code of conduct as well as the
laws to ensure that Dodger Stadium is the most fan-friendly stadium in
the country."

LAPD Assistant Chief George Gascon said that earlier this season,
officials moved quickly to quell rowdy behavior in the stands and
outside the park.

"Very early in the season, there were incidents of rowdiness and we
wanted to ensure that did not continue through the rest of the season,"
Gascon said. "We put some [extra] patrol officers" at the stadium, "but
that was for a short period of time while the Dodgers increased their
security."

But he said that it was too soon to draw any conclusions about the
general crime picture in the area before the department completes an
in-depth assessment of stadium-area crime in the next several days.

A rash of fights in the stands early in the season - particularly
during a $2 Tuesday promotion - made headlines and led to beefed-up
security. Such behavior seemed part of a slow but steady increase in
crimes at the ballpark since 2000, including battery, car theft and
vehicle break-ins, the LAPD said.

According to the LAPD, stolen car reports more than doubled - from
eight to 17 - in the period spanning Opening Day through June 4,
2005, compared with the same period last year.

Reported batteries rose from five to 15, and domestic violence
incidents jumped to eight from five, over the same period last year,
police said.

Overall, reported crime on park property increased to 92 incidents
through June 4, up from 48 last year.

Regulars at the stadium have complained that decorum has deteriorated
there. The bad behavior, they say, could be influenced by several
factors, including alcohol consumption and heated rivalries, such as
the one with the San Francisco Giants.

But other fans have praised the Dodgers for cracking down on the
problem with more patrols by both the LAPD and private security guards.

Copyright © 2005, The Los Angeles Times

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