Man Claims Beaten Giants Fan Was Inciting Dodgers Fans During Game
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Los Angeles Dodgers fan claims a San Francisco Giants fan who was brutally beaten at Dodgers stadium on opening day was acting out during the game.
Juan Banda told TMZ Monday that Bryan Stow was inciting Dodgers fans by screaming, "I [sic] rather eat my own feces than eat a Dodger dog."
Banda says he told Stow he was crossing the line with his comments.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Told him (Stow) it was one thing to root for your team, but you are crossing the line. He didn't say much. Neither him or his buddies who were with him."
Banda told TMZ that Stow "did have a mouth."
"Maybe he said the wrong thing to the wrong guys."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Los Angeles police are examining the video that TMZ posted Monday showing Stow and Banda having words with each other.
The video shows a man in a blue Dodgers hat and jersey pointing a finger at someone in a black and orange shirt who resembles Bryan Stow. The man is a foot or two away. The hands of the man in the black shirt are up defensively. The Dodgers fan then curses in Spanish and turns away.
"Detectives are currently looking at the video to determine whether or not it's going to be helpful to the investigation and the investigation is currently ongoing," police spokeswoman Jacquelyn Abad said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Stow, a 42-year-old Santa Cruz paramedic and father of two, was wearing Giants apparel at the March 31 game. Police said that after the game, two men attacked Stow in the stadium parking lot. He was knocked down, beaten and left in critical condition with head injuries.
The confrontation shown in the video "appears to be the tail end of a verbal confrontation," said TMZ.com, which declined to discuss how it obtained the video.
"We do not release information on our sources," TMZ.com publicist Casey Carver said in an email.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Asked whether TMZ.com had confirmed that the video was genuine and taken on opening day, Carver responded in another email: "We confirm all stories that are put up on the site."
John Stow, Bryan Stow's cousin, said he watched the video and agreed that it definitely shows his cousin.
"The girl who actually took the video talked to our family this morning," he said. "She said this guy was kinda coming in and trying to instigate a fight with my cousin. Bryan just put his hands up and told him to respect the game. You see his hands are up in the air."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It's not easy to watch the video, knowing that his cousin was beaten later that evening, John Stow said.
Doctors at San Francisco General Hospital announced last week that Bryan Stow's condition had been upgraded to serious, but his prospects of recovery are uncertain.
Police have said that Giovanni Ramirez, 31, is the main suspect in Stow's beating. Ramirez was arrested in May and recently was sent back to prison for 10 months for a parole violation involving access to a gun. However, he has not been charged in connection with Stow's beating and his lawyers contend that he was not at Dodger Stadium that night.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TMZ.com said the Dodgers fan in the video is not Ramirez.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.