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Violent Crimes on Game Day: Are Football Games Dangerous?

How safe is it to be a fan at a football game? With emotions running high due to team loyalties, tense rivalries and alcohol consumption before and during the game, what seems like a fun sporting event can end in serious legal trouble.

Recently, three San Francisco 49ers fans were charged with felony assault for brutally beating a Minnesota Vikings fan after a Monday night game at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara.

In 2014, Arizona police arrested two men on assault charges, and stadium security removed several others involved in the two fights that took place in the upper decks of the Cardinals stadium in Glendale.

While these incidents sometimes fly under the radar of stadium security, who can be overwhelmed by 70,000 screaming fans, others are taking notice.

An investigative report on stadium crimes by Seattle news station, KIRO-TV, reviewed approximately 10,000 incidents over two-and-a half seasons, finding hundreds of felony and misdemeanor crimes had occurred during this time.

KIRO-TV also revealed that the National Football League (NFL) keeps a detailed crime record for each stadium on game day, but doesn’t always share this record with police in hopes of protecting certain teams.

The NFL is reacting to growing awareness of violent fan crimes by facilitating communication between each franchise and local law enforcement and stadium security to focus on crowd safety, The Arizona Republic reports.

Currently, most NFL teams have a hotline fans can text to notify stadium officials of concerns and problems during a game, but is this enough to keep thousands of fans in line during a heated game?

Next time you’re watching your favorite team, be aware of escalating arguments, potential fights and drunk drivers.

Our attorneys know from experience that assault and DUI are common charges in Arizona after a big game or event.

Still Fighting Child Abuse Charges, Vikings Running Back Adrian Peterson May Also Face Drug Charges After Admission

Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson may face possible bond revocation and jail time as prosecutors allege he admitted to using marijuana, which violates the bail conditions of his felony child abuse charge.

Peterson was indicted on charges of negligent injury to a child by a grand jury in May for hitting his son, who normally lives with his mother, with a switch (thin wooden stick) during his stay at Peterson’s home north of Houston, Fox Sports said.

Adrian Peterson

Police have not released details about the case, CNN said, but Peterson did turn himself in and was released Sept. 12 on a $15,000 bond with one of the conditions including mandatory drug testing.

The Washington Post reports that documents from TMZ and Fox Houston say that Peterson admitted to an employee of the drug testing company Wednesday while giving a urine sample that he had “smoked a little weed,” but it is unclear whether he failed the test.

Montgomery County District Attorney Brett Ligon asked the primary judge in the case, Kelly Case, to arrest Peterson again and revoke his bond for using drugs and violating the conditions of his bail.

Judge Case may raise the bond amount or rearrest Peterson and require him to pay another bond, but it is unclear when Ligon’s request against Peterson will be ruled on because he has also made a request for Case to recuse himself after he made comments that the lead prosecutors in the case were “media whores,” The Washington Post said.

Rusty Hardin, Peterson’s attorney, said in a statement that Ligon’s motion to revoke Peterson’s bond will come up only when it’s known which judge will hear the case, and the defense will respond at that time, Fox Sports said.

Currently, Peterson remains free on bond. He was deactivated by the Vikings on Sept. 17 and continues to receive his full $11.75 million salary although he can not participate in any team activities.

Peterson is considered one of the best running backs in the NFL, according to CNN, and signed a seven-year contract with the Vikings worth more than $100 million in 2011.

Peterson has defended himself saying that he’s “not a perfect parent, but I am, without a doubt, not a child abuser,” CNN reports. Hardin said his client didn’t mean to harm his son, but was disciplining him like “he experienced as a child growing up in East Texas.

Arizona Could Face Increased DUI and Photo Radar Issues During Super Bowl XLIX

The last time Arizona hosted the Super Bowl in 2008, a total of 10,409 DUI arrests were made and 937 traffic fatalities occurred that year. Of those deaths, 35 percent were alcohol related.

The risks associated high volumes of people in one area, such as drunk driving and other traffic concerns are lingering issues Arizona must face less than six months before it hosts Super Bowl XLIX, the nation’s largest annual sporting event.

Adjustments are being made in Arizona to accommodate the Super Bowl since Glendale may not have enough space or resources to do so on its own.

The NFL moved the NFL Experience fan event and the media headquarters from Glendale to downtown Phoenix, and notable CEOs and business executives from the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee are expected to raise $35 million to help Glendale and the University of Phoenix put on the event next year, the Phoenix Business Journal reports.

With the event expanding from Glendale to other cities, traffic and transportation safety are factors for local officials to examine.

Super Bowl Sunday ranks as one of the most dangerous times of the year for drunk driving deaths. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on that Sunday and into the following Monday, 43 percent of all traffic fatalities were caused by drunk driving in 2012, Mothers Against Drunk Driving reports.

Due to increased traffic in Glendale during the Super Bowl, drivers will need to be aware of the photo radar cameras positioned across the West Valley. These devices have caused issues for drivers who believe that certain areas have become speed traps that lack consistency when it comes to ticketing, Your West Valley reports.

Last spring, Glendale requested $2 million for public safety costs during the Super Bowl which the Arizona Legislature later rejected.

Despite the rejected request, Glendale City Councilman Gary Sherwood said that the city is ahead of schedule on its commitments to the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee for public safety and transportation, The Arizona Republic said.

In contrast, Arizona Cardinals President Michael Bidwill believes the city isn’t doing enough.

“The city hall people really have done nothing” to support Super Bowl XLIX, Bidwill said in an interview with The Arizona Republic sports columnist Dan Bickley in August.

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