Dodgers to Play First Home Game with Enhanced Security

The team announced Wednesday that it's ending a half-price beer promotion.
Watch Elizabeth Espinosa's report

 

 

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) -- The Dodgers will play their first home game with changes to improve security at the stadium Thursday night.

The new safety measures come two weeks after a Giants fan was brutally beaten after the Dodgers home opener.

The 42-year-old father of two and paramedic remains hospitalized in critical condition in a drug induced coma at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

He suffered a severe skull fracture and bruising to his frontal lobe.

Doctors had to remove a portion of Stow's skull to help reduce severe brain swelling. They say it's possible he sustained lasting brain damage.

In the wake of the attack, Dodgers officials are considering a variety of changes to improve safety.

The team has already announced one big change. Half-price beer will no longer be sold during baseball games as part of a six-game "Throwback" promotion beginning April 21, the Dodgers said Wednesday.

The team will still dress in 1940s uniforms, will continue to include half-price food and soft drinks.

Dodgers owner Frank McCourt also agreed to create a computer mapping and crime tracking system for the stadium similar to the one the LAPD uses to monitor crime patterns and hotspots throughout Los Angeles.

LAPD Chief Charlie Beck vowed to double police presence at games.

McCourt has agreed to pay for an increase in the number of LAPD officers patrolling in the stadium and the parking lots during and after games.

"If you come to intimidate, to antagonize either other fans or fans of another team, we're going to do one of two things," Beck said. "You're going to be thrown out of the stadium or you're going to get to go to jail."

"You are going to see a sea of blue. And it's not going to be Dodger blue. It's going to be LAPD blue," Beck said.

Undercover police officers will be on hand as well, according to Beck.

The team has also hired Beck's predecessor, William Bratton, to assess their security policies and procedures at the stadium.

The Dodgers said Bratton and his team at the global investigative firm Kroll will begin consulting immediately.

Bratton said he plans to look at several issues, including lighting in the parking lots, security staffing levels and alcohol sales.

Meantime, hundreds of people participated in a fundraiser at Dodgers Stadium on Monday.

Motorists lined up at the stadium to drop off cash and checks for a relief fund for Stow. Over $61,000 was collected