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Neill Murchison, a former Los Angeles Dodgers security officer, testified on Tuesday that he brought concerns about safety at Dodger Stadium to officials prior to the attack of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow, according to The Los Angeles Times.
Murchison spoke about issues regarding poor lighting, the delay of personnel going to the parking lots after games and a growing issue with gangs.
Murchison is a retired Los Angeles County Sheriff’s sergeant who started working for the Dodgers in April of 2010. Murchison took the stand in the civil trial that accuses former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and the team of negligence in the attack on Stow. It occurred in 2011 and left him disabled.
Earlier this year, Louie Sanchez and Marvin Norwood entered guilty pleas in the attack.
Murchison said that the tactical plan of the stadium was flawed in regards to massive crowds that attend games.
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“You have a time lapse of 20 to 30 minutes of 56,000 people leaving a facility and force security personnel to obtain their equipment, change their radio frequencies, get in their golf carts and redeploy — you have lost a tactical advantage over anything that could possibly happen in that parking lot or any venue,†he testified.
Murchison worked on a SWAT team for the 1984 Olympics and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He said he told his supervisor that lighting was an issue in the parking lots.
“The problem was it was not lit well,†he said. “It was a hazard for the people that were exiting this facility.â€
Murchison testified that gangs were getting “progressively worse†at Dodger Stadium and he suggested changes that were never implemented.
“These plans by this organization … did not adequately protect those individuals in that parking lot at that specific time,†he said.
The attack stemmed from Sanchez and Norwood issuing profanity-filled chants towards Giant fans at a Dodger game on Opening Day of the 2011 season.
