Student Sues Stadium Guards, Firm Over Scuffle at SDSU Game : Courts: $2 million sought by fraternity member who claims his neck was broken during eviction.

A college student who allegedly suffered a broken neck during a scuffle with security guards at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium filed a $2-million lawsuit Friday against the guards and their employer.

John Kellogg, a San Diego State University student, alleged that security guard Robert Babauta kicked him, repeatedly threw him to the concrete floor, and picked him up by the hair while he was handcuffed after he stopped to buy a chocolate chip cookie while he was being kicked out of the stadium.

Kellogg, 21, was among a group of about 18 Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity members who were being evicted for alleged rowdiness during the UCLA-SDSU football game on Sept. 16.

Others Named

In addition to Babauta, the lawsuit names the company, Pro-Tect Professional Service, owner Peter Hayes, guard Ralph Bruck and 100 John Does as defendants. The complaint charges the company, Hayes and the guards with negligence, assault and battery, and false imprisonment.

According to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court, Kellogg suffered a broken neck and injury to his nervous system which “will result in some permanent disability.” The suit also alleges that Pro-Tect attempted to cover up the incident by filing false reports with SDSU officials and state and local agencies that regulate security firms.

The incident was witnessed by Lyle Van Gessel, owner of a printed-circuit design company. In an interview Friday, Gessel, 46, said he was at the concession stand, waiting to buy beer, when Kellogg and the other fraternity members were being escorted out of the stadium by a group of guards.

Kellogg and another fraternity member attempted to buy chocolate chip cookies at the stand, when one or both of them were shoved by guards, who told the pair, “It isn’t lunch time,” Gessel said. At that point, Kellogg apparently attempted a getaway by dashing toward a nearby elevator, Gessel said.

“I got my beers and went and looked in the elevator. . . . One security guy came out holding onto the back of (Kellogg’s) collar, flinging him around. The fellow went to the ground. He was handcuffed, so he couldn’t break his fall. He (Babauta) picked him up and threw him to the ground four times. The guy was handcuffed the entire time. I started screaming at (Babauta) and yelled, ‘You Gestapo son of a bitch, leave him alone,’ ” Gessel said.

One of Kellogg’s fraternity brothers came along and began yelling at Babauta to leave Kellogg alone, Gessel added. Babauta then dropped Kellogg to the floor, and took off after the unknown student. As he ran after the student, Babauta yelled, “You want some of the same?” Gessel said.

By this time Kellogg, who is 5-foot-5 and weighs 130 pounds, was crying and in hysterics, Gessel said.

“(Kellogg) was bawling his head off. He was screaming, ‘Leave me alone!’ The kid’s handcuffed and they’re beating . . . him. I don’t know what went on in the elevator, but the kid was 100% subdued when he came out of the elevator. He was not resisting,” Gessel said.

As the incident unfolded, Gessel said, he kept asking other security guards to take his name, because he had witnessed the alleged beating. However, nobody responded until a supervisor came by and encouraged him to file a complaint, Gessel said.

“The supervisor told me, ‘Please go file a complaint. We need to stop this sort of thing,’ ” Gessel said.

When he filed the complaint against Babauta that night at the stadium, Gessel said, other guards refused to give him Babauta’s badge number until another supervisor interceded and told him that Babauta’s badge number was 165.

“I didn’t see any other security guards do anything out of line. Some of them were rather flippant in their responses, but others were extremely helpful. . . . I think that criminal charges should be filed against (Babauta),” Gessel said.

Although Kellogg refused to talk to police after the incident, defense investigator Manny Lopez said a complaint will be filed against Babauta and the security company next week with San Diego police.

Pro-Tect owner Hayes declined to comment on the lawsuit because he had not seen a copy of it.

“But standard operating procedure is to forward it to the insurance company. Several years later I’ll hear from the attorneys what happened in the case,” said Hayes.

Still Employed

He added that Babauta and Bruck, who could not be reached for comment on Friday, are still employed by his firm. Hayes said that one of the two men was not present on the night of the incident, but he declined to identify him.

In an interview two weeks after the incident, Hayes said that Kellogg was in a rowdy student group that had been walking around the stadium “kicking trash cans and intimidating women in restroom lines.”