A black Maryland father has filed a lawsuit against Six Flags America claiming he was beat and handcuffed by security guards after a white female employee called for help during a dispute over him not wearing a shirt inside the park.
Nicholaus Mims said he was visiting Six Flags America over Father’s Day weekend with his family when he was thrown to the ground and attacked as he was walking to his car.
Mims said the incident started when his 12-year-old son disappeared from the water park they were at and he went searching for the boy.
According to a lawsuit obtained by the Washington Post, Mims was with his son at Hurricane Harbor when the child ran off.
Mims said he had taken his shirt off while at the water park, and took off searching other areas of Six Flags when he noticed his son was nowhere in sight.
He said as he ran through Six Flags looking for the boy a couple security guards told him that it was against park rules not to have a shirt on. The frantic father said he explained what was going on and they let him continue searching.
Nicholaus Mims said he was attacked and beaten by security guards at Six Flags America because he wasn’t wearing a shirt inside the park
Mims eventually found his son safe and well playing arcade games. He said he called his wife, who had his shirt in her bag, and told her where to meet them.
‘You don’t know what crazy people are going to do out here,’ Mims told the Washington Post. ‘Everything flashes through your mind at that time. You’re worried.’
He added: ‘I’m nervous, afraid and scared because I can’t find my child. Not one time did anyone say, “Is something wrong? Do you need any help?”‘
According to Mims, a white female security guard approached him minutes after he found his son and told him he needed to put a shirt on. He said he tried explaining that his wife was on her way with his shirt.
The Maryland father said his son went missing in the park and he was trying to find him
‘In response, the Caucasian female employee activated her handheld radio device and called park security,’ Mims’s lawsuit states.
He told the Washington Post that the call the security guard made for backup was racially motivated.
Mims said two more security guards approached him and told him to leave the park. Mims said he again tried explaining what happened and told them that his wife was on the way with his shirt.
‘Man, I told you, I’m waiting for my wife,’ Mims, in court filings, recalled telling security. ‘I don’t understand, I’ve spent all this money — almost $400 — to get into this park, and now you are telling me I have to leave because I don’t have a shirt on?’
Mims said he used an expletive and that’s when one of the security guards placed his hand on his mace and told the father to leave.
Mims, according to his lawsuit, responded: ‘What are you doing? Are you really about to mace me right in front of my son because I told you I don’t know what’s going on?’
Mims said the guards again told him to leave so he started walking towards the exit.
He said once they stepped outside the park’s gate, one of the security guards told him he was under arrest for disorderly conduct and grabbed his arm.
Mims said before the incident he was at Hurricane Harbor, a water park, with his son and he had taken his shirt off
Mims, who says the attack was racially motivated, is seeking $10million in damages
Mims said he yanked his arm away, and that’s when several guards threw him to the ground and allegedly beat him. He said he was bruised during the alleged attack. One photo shows swelling above his eye.
‘This beat down is unacceptable,” Mims’ lawyer Donald Huskey said.
Mims said he knows he broke park rules by not having a shirt on and by cursing, but he doesn’t think he should have been attacked as he was trying to leave.
‘I could see if I was fighting with someone or not compliant, but I was leaving,’ Mims said. ‘I broke the rules. That’s my bad, but that doesn’t mean you need to slam my face into the ground.’
His lawsuit is seeking $10million in damages.
A Six Flags spokeswoman Denise Stokes says the company believes the lawsuit has no merit. Company lawyers have denied his allegations in court.
‘Six Flags stands by its answer and intends to vigorously defend this matter in court,’ said David A. Skomba, a Maryland-based attorney for the park.