This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Fight with lifeguard and the homie Oscar against Kooks on venice pier while chillin with international pop star Lauren Shona McCoy
Posted by Romy Dee on Thursday, July 30, 2015
Three people got into a fight with a lifeguard on the Venice pier in an unusual incident caught on camera.
Sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 7:15 p.m. on Thursday, a lifeguard stationed at the tower on the Venice pier confronted three visitors walking by. As shown in the video above, captured by Romy Dee, the lifeguard jumps off the ladder and gets attacked by two men and a woman. A passerby jumps into the fray to break up the fight, and one of the two men gets knocked out. The video shows the lifeguard punching him while he's down on the ground.
Other lifeguards come to aid, and during a brief calm the original lifeguard in the fight explains that a cigarette was flicked into his tower, setting off the confrontation. The woman then begins hitting the lifeguard again, yelling repeatedly, "You sexually harassed me!"
According to KTLA, witnesses say the lifeguard asked one of the attackers to put out a cigarette. Family members of the three assailants dispute the claim that the lifeguard was only defending himself.
"I've seen a lot of things, but this is a different one," witness Chase Gilliland told NBC 4. "Usually, lifeguards are just chill and try to keep the peace. But sometimes the tourists get a little rowdy in the summertime."
"You don't attack the people that are trying to save lives," Dee told CBS 2. "I see these guys save lives every day."
"Surfed here for over twenty years... never seen anything like this before," he also told ABC 7.
The two men and one woman are all in their 20s and were later arrested by LAPD. The suspect that was knocked unconscious was taken away on a stretcher. All three are facing felony charges of assault on a peace officer.
The lifeguard, who has not been identified, possibly suffered a broken hand but is otherwise expected to be OK.
