SAN FRANCISCO—On April 26, a San Francisco security guard filed a lawsuit against Thrasher magazine, the building owners of the skyscraper on 555 California St. (the Trump Organization is part owner), and a skateboarder who was allegedly involved in a 2018 confrontation. The confrontation left the security guard in a coma for more than a week and left him with permanent brain damage. The security guard is seeking a trial by jury.
The incident occurred on November 25, 2018 outside of the skyscraper and was caught on security cameras. It shows, Dan Jansen, 57, confronting seven skateboarders who were moving barricades set outside the building. A physical scuffle occurred where Jansen is pushed to the sidewalk where he struck his head and fractured his skull.
As he lay unconscious, the skateboarders fled. According to the lawsuit filed in the Superior Court of San Francisco, Jansen had to undergo multiple surgeries and will require “lifelong medical care and treatment.” The skateboarder named in the suit is Jesse Vieira, who was charged with assault with a deadly weapon during a 2019 criminal trial. That case ended in a mistrial.
Thrasher magazine is named in the suit as they promote & manage the activities of GX1000, a skateboard crew that includes Vieira. The suit claims that the crew Thrasher promotes used the outside of the building known as “Black Rock” to “to practice and perform various skateboarding stunts and tricks, and to instigate, provoke, engage in, and monetize physical altercations with security personnel,” per the Mercury News.
According to Jansen, the operators of the building knew about an incident involving 10-15 trespassing skateboarders the day before. Authorities were called for assistance during the incident and the operators failed to inform Jansen on the day of his shift. No information about the amount of money Jansen is seeking has been disclosed.
