A Colorado man is suing Cheyenne Frontier Days Inc. and an unnamed bouncer employed by the organization after the bouncer allegedly sent him to the emergency room.
Frederick D. Amen filed a lawsuit complaint Monday against Cheyenne Frontier Days, and the unknown bouncer to whom he gave the pseudonym John Doe. Amen attached a photograph of the bouncer which, according to Amen’s complaint, his family took after the bouncer hurt him.
Neither the Cheyenne Police Department nor the Cheyenne Frontier Days Inc. attorney would tell Amen the bouncer’s name, the complaint says.
Happened At A Concert
Amen and his family were regular attendees and avid fans of Cheyenne Frontier Days events until July 21, 2022. That’s when Amen says he was at a concert but needed to use the bathroom, according to the complaint.
Amen says he went through a fence opening with other patrons to the portable toilets, the complaint says. After he finished, he was going through the same opening in the fence when a bouncer in a red shirt allegedly accosted him.
The bouncer told Amen he could not get back into the concert even though he had a ticket, the complaint says.
“John Doe was big and menacing,” the document continues. “(Amen) is much smaller than John Doe.”
Amen did not argue with the bouncer but walked away, the complaint says. But as he walked away the bouncer allegedly grabbed Amen from behind and threw him to the ground, seriously injuring Amen’s back and elbow.
Amen had to go to the emergency room that night, the complaint claims, and he suffers from the serious injuries to this day. He’ll need at least one surgery and “perhaps more,” the document adds.
The complaint says Amen’s family arrived on scene and took photographs of the bouncer.
Amen reported the incident to the Cheyenne Police, the complaint claims, and they would not give the bouncer’s name. Neither would Cheyenne Frontier Days Inc’s attorney, says the filing.
While the lawsuit says the concert was July 21, 2022, the Cheyenne Frontier Days concert lineup for 2022 didn’t begin until July 22, 2022, when Jason Aldean with Gabby Barrett were the main performers. Cowboy State Daily confirmed with the Cheyenne law firm of Frederick J. Harrison, who is representing Amen, that the concert in question was July 22 and not July 21.
These Are The Claims
Amen alleges a battery case against the bouncer and negligence and vicarious liability against the Cheyenne Frontier Days organization.
The organization failed to qualify the bouncer properly for the position, Amen alleges, and overlooked the bouncer’s lack of reasonable temperament and his tendency to be a “dangerous individual.”
Amen also says CFD must not have trained the bouncer correctly or supervised him correctly for security.
The complaint also claims CFD was unprofessional in not identifying the bouncer and allegedly “allowing him to continue to menace patrons.”
Lastly, Amen is seeking punitive damages against both the bouncer and the rodeo’s organization. He asks for medical expenses to date, future medical expenses, compensation for emotional distress, pain and suffering, punitive (punishing) damages, costs and any other relief deemed appropriate in court.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
