The Los Angeles Police Department will send officers into Thursday's NL Division Series Game 5 between the Dodgers and Mets undercover as fans in response to a fight outside Dodger Stadium after Game 1 that left a person in critical condition.
"Literally hundreds of Los Angeles police will be out there, both in uniform and undercover," LAPD Commander Andrew Smith said, via the New York Daily News. "We have them dressed in undercover gear so they look just like a fan of one or another team's, so people will never know whether the person standing next to them with a Mets jersey is an LAPD officer or not."
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Investigators say Game 1’s fight apparently began as an argument between fans that escalated to a physical confrontation. Witnesses said a tall, blonde man punched a Mets fan, who fell and hit his head.
The man injured in the fight, originally in critical condition when taken to Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, was in serious but stable condition Tuesday.
"We've got plenty of leads and our detectives are working diligently, but we have not made an arrest so far," Smith said.
The fight was eerily similar to the 2011 attack on Giants fan Bryan Stow, who suffered serious brain damage after being beaten on Opening Day in a Dodger Stadium parking lot. Stow later won an $18 million judgment in 2014 after suing the Dodgers and former owner Frank McCourt, claiming that they were to blame for the attack because of insufficient security and lighting at Dodger Stadium.