Father Dies at Patriot Stadium After Heated Argument with Stadium Security
Sunday, September 12, 2010. The first day of football season. The Patriots stadium is packed with fans excited to see the home team start a new season. Unfortunately, this season began with the death of a Patriots fan in front of his son. 40 year-old father, Jeff Chartier, of Chicopee, MA, died a little more than an hour before kick-off at the season opener at Gillette stadium. According to the family, Chartier was a devout Patriots fan and held season tickets for the past 18 years.
The heated argument occurred over Chartier's 6-year old son. The fan was reportedly told by NFL officials (a referee) before the game that his son, Teddy, could run on the sideline and take pictures from on the field. However, once approaching the field, a security officer for Gillette Stadium told the boy he had no reason to be on the field and got into an argument with the father. When Chartier's son started crying, the argument escalated.
Chartier collapsed once he returned to his seat, on the south sideline, where he was rished by EMT's to the hospital. Reports state that the argument led up to a heart attack, which caused the death of Jeff Chartier.
A witness reported that the father was "steaming" after the argument. The same witness reported that while she tried to help Chartier, the stadium employee did nothing to help and just stood there. Further, according to Stacey James, the Patriot's vice president of media relations, no one was fired as a result of anything that happened during this game.
A memorial fund has been established on behalf of Jeff Chartier in order to help the family. Chartier is survived by his wife, Kimberly Ann, and two children, 8-year-old Amber and 6-year-old Teddy. The memorial fund is the Teddy and Amber Chartier Educational Fund, c/o Polish National Credit Union, in Chicopee (their hometown).
This story is an example of how private security officers can often act negligently, or worse, harmful towards patrons. Whether the security officer was harmful by arguing or possible engaging in an altercation with a fan, or negligent in not aiding the fan while having a heart attack is still uncertain. However, the Chartier family is reportedly waiting to hear answers from investigators. It is not uncommon for stadium and private security to get into altercations patrons, and unfortunately, this may lead to terrible consequences for an innocent patron.
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