Approved ~ MJM
In an apparent drug-induced rage, a South Florida man attacked a Disney security guard at Animal Kingdom’s DinoLand U.S.A. last month, according to an Orange County Sheriff’s Office report.
James Arvid, 19, of Pompano Beach, was arrested and charged with battery on a security guard, a third-degree felony, according to Orange Circuit Court records. He has pleaded not guilty.
“We do not tolerate violence of any kind on our property and appreciate those, including the Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputies, who quickly came to the aid of this cast member,” Disney spokeswoman Erica Ettori said in a statement.
The scene unfolded in the middle of the afternoon on Oct. 25, according to the recently released sheriff’s report.
The uniformed 41-year-old Disney security guard was on patrol in the DinoLand U.S.A. area when Arvid tackled him from behind. Arvid put the guard in a headlock and held him down, but the guard still managed to radio for help, the report said.
Eventually, theme-park guests noticed what was happening and pulled Arvid off the guard and “subdued him” until law enforcement arrived, the report said.
The ordeal left the guard with two bloody cuts on his elbow, but he was not seriously hurt, the report said. No guests were hurt, according to Disney.
A deputy sheriff described Arvid as “bloody, sweating profusely, non-responsive to commands, and compulsively kicking his legs.”
“It appeared James was in a state of excited delirium and unexpected strength,” the sheriff’s report said.
He was restrained on a stretcher and taken to a hospital in Celebration.
“I took LSD and tried to kill someone,” Arvid later told a nurse but he could not remember anything else that had happened at the park, according to the report.
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