Police under scrutiny for keeping apparent beating of fan outside SoFi Stadium a secret for days


Questions are swirling around the apparent beating of a man outside SoFi Stadium during Sunday's game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams, and why the Inglewood Police Department waited several days to inform the public about the incident.
Daniel Luna, a 40-year-old restaurant owner and 49ers fan, was discovered bleeding in the stadium parking lot about 30 minutes after the game started. The Los Angeles Times reports that it's unclear who called 911 about Luna. He is now hospitalized in a medically induced coma.
The Times says the Inglewood Police Department didn't learn about what happened to Luna until about three hours later, after emergency room personnel informed them Luna had wounds suggesting he had been attacked. On Wednesday, after an inquiry from the Times, the Inglewood Police Department confirmed the incident.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Super Bowl will be held at SoFi Stadium on Feb. 13, and earlier Wednesday, there was a news conference about COVID-19 safety protocols at the game, but no mention was made of the beating. Horace Frank, a former assistant police chief in Los Angeles who oversaw game security operations, told the Times the assault should have been made public sooner because "the perpetrator is a public safety hazard and a threat to the community. You want to get the persons responsible for this heinous attack into custody as soon as possible."
Experts are now wondering if there will be adequate security measures in place before the Super Bowl. Two law enforcement officials told the Times some portions of SoFi Stadium's parking lots are not fully covered by cameras, and management has been encouraged to have Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies on hand to supplement security. Last week, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said 380 of his personnel will be at the stadium for the Super Bowl.
Luna's beating is a reminder of the 2011 attack against San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow outside Dodger Stadium. In that case, there were witnesses and the beating was reported to the media within hours. Inglewood Police have not released any information on suspects in the attack on Luna, and said they are looking at video footage to try to determine who was involved in his beating.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
George Floyd: Did Black Lives Matter fail?
Feature The momentum for change fades as the Black Lives Matter Plaza is scrubbed clean
-
National debt: Why Congress no longer cares
Feature Rising interest rates, tariffs and Trump's 'big, beautiful' bill could sent the national debt soaring
-
Why are military experts so interested in Ukraine's drone attack?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The Zelenskyy government's massive surprise assault on Russian airfields was a decisive tactical victory — could it also be the start of a new era in autonomous warfare?
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside home
speed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confession
speed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulder
speed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC parade
speed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
-
2 Israel Embassy staff shot dead at DC Jewish museum
speed read The suspected gunman chanted 'free, free Palestine'
-
Bombing of fertility clinic blamed on 'antinatalist'
speed read A car bombing injured four people and damaged a fertility clinic and nearby buildings in Palm Springs, California
-
Suspect charged after 11 die in Vancouver car attack
Speed Read Kai-Ji Adam Lo drove an SUV into a crowd at the Lapu Lapu Day festival
-
Kenya arrests alleged ant smugglers
speed read Two young Belgians have been charged for attempting to smuggle ants out of the country to exotic pet buyers