Photo: Photo courtesy Amanda Jansen. Security officer Dan Jansen, who suffered a fractured skull and brain injury in a fight with skateboarders.
Resisting authority -- with security being the tip of the spear -- appears to be ingrained in the culture of skateboarding. Many skateboarders seem to relish the notion of skating in public areas where it is not allowed, simply to thumb their nose at "The Man." In the case of Dan Jansen, we have a severe example of a fight between skateboarders and a security officer who was tasked with protecting private property. Although over the years, there have been efforts to provide skate parks around the country as an alternative to skating on public and private property, Jansen's case is a sad reminder of the continued introspection needed in the skateboarding community -- and also of the dangers faced every day by security officers. -- IFPO.
By Haley Samsel, SecurityToday.com
The skateboarding world is grappling with a dangerous trend that has been promoted by some of its most famous athletes for years: the glorification of confrontations with security guards tasked with keeping skaters off their properties.
A violent fight between a guard and skateboarding crew in San Francisco has drawn attention to how skateboarders, and the media who cover them, have grown to despise security guards to the point of attacking them.
In November, a group of skaters arrived at a corporate plaza that has often been the scene of trick videos despite the plaza’s skating ban. Dan Jansen arrived to tell the skaters to leave and ended up in a tense confrontation with professional skater Jesse Vieira, The New York Times reported.
The fight escalated when Jansen threw a skater’s board into the road and ended with Jansen being pushed to the ground, giving him permanent brain damage and the inability to walk or recognize family members. Due to his injuries, part of Jansen’s skull and frontal lobe were removed in surgery.
Vieira pleaded not guilty to assault charges, claiming self defense. He awaits a second trial in September after a jury was deadlocked over the case in May, leading to a mistrial.
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