2015/10/14
A man at the Cubs v Pittsburgh Pirates was abused for supporting his team.
A fan from Chicago was hoping his jacket and billy goat hat would bring his favorite team good luck during the National League wild-card game in Pittsburgh on Monday.
Dimitry Mitalas had paid $180 for a seat and drove at least seven hours to be at the game.
However, he did not realize his attire was would not only end up upsetting other fans, but bring him a streak of bad luck too.
When his face was shown on TV during the game, which was tilting in the cubs’ favor, Pittsburgh Pirates fans became distraught.
The Wrigleyville resident says some spectators started spitting on him and he was pelted with a cup of chewing tobacco.
Nasty words were exchanged with one fan and the ushers arrived and asked Mitalas to leave, even though it was clear that he was the one being bullied.
Some witnesses also told the attendants that he had nothing to do with the quarrel.
The Chicago bartender then went up to a police officer to ask for help.
Instead the cop told him to leave; in fact other Pittsburgh Pirates staff also asked him to do the same.
According to Mitalas, the police officer said: “You have to go now”.
When the confused fan asked if he could clarify the situation, the man in uniform asked Mitalas to put his hands behind his back and escorted him towards the exit.
One of his friends was recording the interaction; the victim says other security guards tried to snatch his phone.
Onlookers noticed the cop’s heavy-handedness and several decided to capture the scene on their cameras.
In the footage, the burly police officer is seen putting his arm around the already distraught man’s neck in a chokehold, while Mitalis asks him to stop.
“Stop it! Seriously,” he is heard saying.
Next, the victim is dragged to the concession stand while he protests that he had done nothing wrong. Now, the officer uses his own weight to throw Mitalas onto the concrete.
This resulted in injuries to his back and wrist – so severe that he had to go to the emergency room.
He was not arrested and no charges were pressed.
Pittsburgh Police Department has already begun an internal investigation.
The city’s Mayor Bill Peduto has also ordered a brutality enquiry by the Office of Municipal Investigations.
Mitalis, who is considering a lawsuit, says: “They merely kicked me out for being a fan and excited to be on TV and watching my team win”.
Watch the video below:
