Video shows security physically removing fan from Chicago Fire FC game at Soldier Field
The Chicago Fire football club said they are addressing security issues at future Soldier Field games after video captured a fan being physically removed from the stands at Wednesday night's game.
The fan said it happened after he joined a group flying Palestinian flags.
Video posted and shared widely on social media shows several Monterrey security guards carrying out a man whose body appears to be limp. The witness who posted the video shared with CBS News Chicago said other fans began yelling for an ambulance because they thought the man was unconscious.
In the video, the man can be seen being carried up the stairs face down, handcuffed with his arms behind his back, by multiple security officers. Witnesses said there was a verbal altercation between security and the group, including the man, before he was physically restrained and handcuffed.
The man, Dominic Osmund, talked with CBS News Chicago Thursday evening.
"I would imagine it's a matter of kind of the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. "They needed somebody. They were worked up. I was there."
Osmund said the incident involved fans in front of him who were holding up Palestinian flags. He said security told them to put the flags down, and they complied.
He said he had been sitting with his parents watching the game, and at halftime, he went down to join the group with the Palestinian flags and support them and the Palestinian cause. He said he was not there to protest and did not have a flag at any point.
"At the end of the 65th minute, towards the end of the game, they came down — and even though nobody was flying them, they started grabbing the flags, and you know, confiscating all of them," Osmund said.
Osmund said the security guards took the flags out of people's pockets.
"I said: 'Hey, why are you doing this? We weren't having a problem before. Nobody was doing anything. What was going on? Why are you doing this?'" Osmund said. "And that was when I was grabbed by one of the security guys kind of coming from behind me. He grabbed me, started immediately trying to handcuff me, and then there were hands on me from all directions, like two or three guys trying to grab me."
Osmund said he was never given any verbal warnings or told not to do anything by security. He said he was not certain that no one in the group was holding the flags up after being asked to put them down, but nobody around him was doing so.
Osmund was arrested, charged with one count of misdemeanor battery and eventually released to his parents.
The Chicago Fire saying they are aware of the incident and will be meeting with leadership at Soldier Field and supporter group leaders "to learn more and ensure that supporter's section maintains a safe and welcoming environment for all."
Osmund said he is set to meet with team officials via Zoom on Friday afternoon.
Monterrey Security said in a statement, "We are working together with the Chicago Fire and Soldier Field staff to fully investigate the matter."
He said he suffered cuts and bruises to his arms and legs, and he said his neck was stiff.
The Fire has a policy on flags, and its website says specifically that country flags are prohibited. Osmund said the questions moving forward will likely focus on the flying of flags.
"Obviously, we weren't in a public space, but I believe very strongly in the First Amendment, in freedom of expression — and whether or not it's something that I like or something that I don't, I would feel the same way if it was an Israeli flag. I would feel the same way if it was a Chinese flag, a Russian flag," Osmund said.
