Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Queens Man Kicked, Beaten By Citi Field Guards and Cops, Lawsuit Claims

By Katie Honan | July 26, 2013 8:49am
 The construction company in charge of high-profile projects such as Citifield in Queens, was charged on April 24, 2012 for over billing clients, prosecutors said.
The construction company in charge of high-profile projects such as Citifield in Queens, was charged on April 24, 2012 for over billing clients, prosecutors said.
View Full Caption
Flickr/Ted Kerwin

QUEENS — A Queens man is suing the city, the NYPD, Citi Field, claiming he was brutally beaten at a Mets game last year, arrested and held for days in a local precinct without receiving proper medical treatment.

Daniel Hayes, 34, of Middle Village, alleges in a lawsuit filed earlier this month in Queens Supreme Court that he was grabbed and handcuffed by Citi Field security at a game on April 20, 2012.

When he asked why he was being handcuffed, Hayes says the security guards told him to "shut the f--- up" and do as they say, according to the suit.

Hayes claims he was then taken to a dark staircase, where he was pushed and struck with a blunt object in the back of the head, leaving him unconscious. 

What followed, the suit charges, was close to 72 hours of misery.

Hayes said he was treated at Elmhurst Hospital only after he begged for medical attention. He was arrested but was never told what the charges were, the suit claims.

He was then shuttled between the 110th Precinct and Queens Criminal Court, spending time in a wet, moldy cell at the precinct station house, the suit says. It also alleges he was attacked by police officers while being held in court.

At his arraignment, Hayes said Legal Aid representation advised him to agree to trespassing and harassment charges, both violations. If he didn't, he said they told him he would face up to 12 days in jail.

Hayes was not mentally or physically capable of making a decision, the suit claims, but agreed to the deal because he still needed medical treatment.

The lawsuit says the incident has traumatized Hayes, made him fearful of police and left him with permanent injuries.

He is asking for an unspecified monetary amount for damages caused by the incident.

The New York Mets and the city Law Department did not immediately respond to a request to comment. 

Neither Hayes nor his lawyer could be reached for comment.