PITTSBURGH (CelebrityAccess) A 47-year-old man has sued Aramark Sports & Entertainment along with the city of Pittsburgh and several police offices after he was beaten outside PPG Paints Arena last September.
Three policeman, one in plainclothes, were attempting to make an arrest outside the arena when Daniel Adelman intervened, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Adleman said he was attending a concert (Roger Waters was playing that evening at the arena). The lawsuit claims Adleman didn’t realize that Officer Andrew Jacobs was a police officer and began fighting him, only stopping when the other two officers told him to freeze, which he did, according to the lawsuit.
Jacobs then knocked Adelman to the ground, punched him several times and slammed his head into the ground while the other two officers watched, according to the lawsuit. Another officer then arrived and tased Adelman, the suit says. It also claims one witness thought the force was excessive and wasn’t surprised that Adelman wasn’t more badly injured. She allegedly contacted the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and the Pittsburgh Citizen Police Review Board to report the incident.
Adelman is suing Aramark – the arena’s food & bev concessionaire – for over-serving him alcohol.
The incident made news last year, with the FBI confirming to the paper that it had opened a review into the violent arrest earlier in the week, and there were multiple probes into the incident. Adleman suffered a dislocated shoulder, bruises on his head and concussion-like symptoms, his attorney told the Post-Gazette. One police officer was put on desk duty after a bystander captured him striking Adelman at least eight times while he was on the ground, then slamming his head against the ground.
“We are aware of the incident that took place outside of PPG Arena in downtown Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening, and we are reviewing the facts and circumstances surrounding the matter in close coordination with the United States Attorney’s Office, Western District of Pennsylvania,” Special Agent Robert Johnson of the FBI’s Pittsburgh field office said Friday in a statement, according to the paper. “If information comes to light of a potential federal civil rights violation, the FBI is prepared to investigate.”
The lawsuit seeks compensation for Adleman’s injuries, punitive damages and attorney fees, according to the Post-Gazette;. A police spokesman declined to comment.
Video of the arrest is available here.
