Nearly a year after a PNC Park security guard was suspended for fighting with a fan, that man and the Pittsburgh Pirates are facing a lawsuit.
Patrick Egan alleges that security guard Raymond Stroud III hit him and struck him with a belt, according to a lawsuit filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court.
According to the court filing, Egan and a friend were attending the “Star Wars Day” Pirates game at PNC Park last May.
After the Pirates lost to the Padres, the pair was trying to leave when a food and beverage worker bumped into Egan’s friend. The lawsuit says the worker got into a fight with Egan’s friend, called him “fat boy” and signaled to Stroud, who was working as a security guard.
Egan did not touch or harass the worker, the lawsuit says, but became involved in a “heated verbal altercation” with Stroud.
The lawsuit alleges Stroud refused to call his supervisor when Egan asked him to do so. It also claims Stroud was spitting in Egan’s mouth during the verbal exchange.
Then, according to the complaint, Stroud punched Egan in the throat and face, knocking his glasses off his face. He punched Egan in the back of the head as he retreated.
The strikes left Egan with a bloody lip and a chipped tooth, according to the lawsuit. Egan spit blood at Stroud twice.
That’s when, the lawsuit alleges, Stroud removed his belt and struck Egan’s face and back repeatedly.
Other personnel working at the ballpark intervened.
Following the incident last year, Pirates spokesman Brian Warecki, in a statement, told TribLive the Pirates were aware of the incident and an investigation was underway.
“The employee’s behavior was entirely unacceptable, and he was immediately suspended,” Warecki said at the time.
A Pirates spokesman declined to comment Tuesdaymorning.
In a GoFundMe page, Stroud said he “stepped in to protect a fellow co-worker and help deescalate the situation” after seeing a dispute between the worker and two fans.
On his fundraiser page — which has raised $1,015 of a $5,000 goal — Stroud said he had enjoyed working at PNC Park for two seasons. He described the incident as “my only negative interaction” there.
The lawsuit alleges Egan has suffered concussion, dizziness, difficulty with balance, coordination and sleeping, decreased memory, headaches, pain, facial trauma, a neck injury and decreased neck mobility since the incident.
It claims that Stroud failed to disclose a prior criminal history to the Pirates and says the Pirates did not properly train and supervise their employee.