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Abel Rodriguez, a former police officer and veteran assaulted by a security guard, was awarded over $60 million by a Tarrant County jury after a 2018 incident at Texas Live! left him with severe brain injuries. Rodriguez was assaulted by a security guard, Hasan Perryman, in an attack that has had lasting effects on his physical and mental health. The verdict, delivered on November 26, 2024, includes $50 million in exemplary damages against Texas Live!, $5 million against Inner Parish Security Corporation, and $500,000 against Perryman.
The Incident: Veteran Assaulted by Security Guard
On September 9, 2018, Rodriguez and his wife, Cynthia, were enjoying a night out with friends at the entertainment complex in Arlington, Texas. While leaving the PBR bar, Rodriguez took a souvenir beer mug from a stack left on a table, believing it to be a harmless gesture. Perryman, a security guard, confronted Rodriguez in the food court, forcibly shoved him to the ground, and struck him on the head with the heavy glass mug.
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The attack caused a deep wound that required layers of stitches and left shards of glass embedded in Rodriguez’s scalp for a year, ultimately requiring surgical removal. He also suffered a traumatic brain injury and continues to experience cognitive deficits and chronic headaches.
Legal and Emotional Fallout
The assault compounded Rodriguez’s PTSD and left him battling depression and isolation. Despite these struggles, Cynthia Rodriguez said her husband initially blamed himself for the incident, even though he did nothing to provoke the attack.
Cynthia witnessed the assault and described it as a shocking and traumatic event. “It all happened so fast,” she said. The couple assumed the facility’s surveillance footage would provide evidence, but Texas Live! allegedly concealed the footage from the jury, according to their attorney, Brian Butcher.
Negligence in Hiring
The lawsuit revealed that Perryman had a prior felony battery conviction and was hired without undergoing proper background screening. Under Texas law, individuals with felony convictions within the last 10 years are prohibited from working as security guards. Perryman’s conviction, which occurred five years prior, should have disqualified him from employment.
Butcher argued that both Texas Live! and Inner Parish Security Corporation were negligent not only in hiring Perryman but also in covering up the incident. He said the companies tried to deflect responsibility by attributing Rodriguez’s symptoms to his PTSD rather than the brain injury caused by the attack.
The Verdict
After a six-year legal battle, the jury sided with the Rodriguezes, awarding them $60,650,000 in damages. The decision was described by Butcher as a “vindication of truth” and a repudiation of the defense’s efforts to discredit Rodriguez.
“We overcame their refusal to take responsibility by explaining the facts of the case and letting the jury decide the truth,” Butcher said.
Hope for Change
Cynthia Rodriguez expressed hope that the verdict would prompt Texas Live! and similar establishments to implement better screening processes for security personnel to prevent future incidents. “In this day and age, people aren’t treated with kindness and grace,” she said. “I just hope they change the way they do things so this doesn’t happen to someone else.”
