Cedar Point: Address incident of an employee hitting a mother.

Address incident of an employee hitting a mother.

Greetings,

On Sunday, July 10th, 2011, I went to Soak City with an organized group of 37 people. As my 10-year-old son and I were going through the obstacle course, I lost sight of him and immediately went to the pool to locate him. After spotting him inside the crowded pool, I went to the edge of the pool where he would be able to hear me, and began calling his name.

Suddenly a lifeguard, who’s name I was later told was Erik, rudely informed me that I needed to move.  I told him that I needed just one second because I was trying to call my lost child.  Erik then yelled at me, “Move!” and proceeded to walk behind me and intentionally hit my head with a red pool instrument (I believe it is called a rescue tube).  Dazed, I looked at him and asked, “Why did you do that?”  Erik turned towards me again and pushed me out of the way towards the pool.  I held on to the fence so that his pushing would not knock me down and said, ”Don’t push me, what is your problem?”  Immediately after I said that, he hit me hard on my left upper arm (between my elbow and shoulder).  It was so hard that it felt like a fist punching me, but later on my son told me that Erik had used his elbow to hit me.  I was so scared and surprised that all I could do was call him an asshole.  My young son viewed the altercation and was noticeably upset.

Not once did Erik show any concern for my missing child. After he elbowed me on my arm, he had the gall to laugh it off.  I could not believe that I was receiving this treatment from a professional Cedar Point lifeguard.  

I immediately asked another lifeguard standing nearby for a supervisor.   The supervisor named Stacey talked to Erik.  She flatly told me that Erik denied ever hitting me.  I replied, “So it’s his word against mine?” I felt belittled, ignored, and was completely flabbergasted at the treatment I was receiving from Cedar Point personnel. I decided at that point to file a police report.

After approximately thirty minutes, I was able to talk to a Cedar Point police officer, Officer Luttman.  Officer Luttman began writing my name, D.O.B, height, and weight on a 2”x3” piece of white paper. He then spoke with Erik privately.  I observed them from afar and saw that Erik was laughing along with the other lifeguards (which incidentally means that they were leaving a bunch of swimming kids unattended in the pool).

Fifteen minutes later, at 6:15 PM, a second police officer, Officer McPherran, approached me and told me that I needed to leave the park.  The people that were with me at the time and I were stunned.  I replied, “Excuse me?  I was just assaulted and now I am being removed from your facility?” Officer McPherran insisted and said more forcefully, “You need to gather your belongings and go.”  Since this was the first time I was seeing this particular officer, I asked him if I could tell him my side of the story.  Officer McPherran flatly refused to hear me out and said, “I was already told your side of the story.  We already made a decision.”  I asked him to tell me who made this decision.  Officer McPherran then got close to my face and said, “Get moving! You need to get out of the park!” 

Then, four people from the group of people who were with me at that time also asked to have a copy of the police report and were flat out denied access to either a police report or, at the very least, a police report number.  Officer McPherran then suddenly said that they had a witness that saw the incident and saw that I was not hit.  When I expressed to the Officer that it was impossible to have someone witness a negative (“not hitting”), he became very aggravated and told me not to tell him how to do his job.  I then asked to get this alleged witness’s name and he told me he wouldn’t give it to me because the witness was under their “witness protection program.”  The people in my group laughed incredulously at what he was saying to me.  I responded, ”Well, I have all these witnesses, too, including my son.” Officer McPherran replied that my witnesses were no good because they are my friends.  

Officer McPherran then threatened he would arrest me in front of my child if I did not leave right away.  Since he did not have a badge or a name tag, I asked him to spell his name for me.  He spelled his name: “P-H-E-R-R-M-A-N.”  When I asked for his badge number he gave me the number “3223.”  When I asked him to spell his name he spoke very fast and even seeing that I had written both his name and his badge number wrong, he did not correct me.  At that point I left the park feeling discriminated against because had it not been for my noticeable foreign accent, the Cedar Point staff and police would have treated me differently.  I was shocked at the way the staff and police were covering for each other’s wrongdoings.  

I left the part and went to the Cedar Point Police Station and asked for the police report number.  There, I encountered Officer Gibson and I explained the situation to him and asked him to take a picture of my arm, which was already starting to bruise.  The officer refused by saying, “I will not take a picture because how do I know that this injury is from the incident you’re talking about.”  Knowing that it is his job to record evidence, I insisted.  The Sheriff refused again. I had no other choice but to take a picture with my own camera.  In the days after, as the bruise was running its course and looking worse, I followed up with more pictures. 

I have tried for months to get in contact with someone from Cedar Point but all of my attempts have gone without response. At this point, I request that Cedar Fair address this matter and provide the appropriate remedies. 

1. I request that Cedar Point fire the lifeguard with no option to re-hire

2. I am requesting that I get adequately compensated for:  
   a. My injuries (attached are my photos), 
   b. My son’s mental anguish from witnessing his mother get hit;  
   c. The money that my group spent on bus rental and admission  

3.  Lastly, I also would like a public apology.

Sincerely,

[Your name]