Chatsworth Man After Angry Looters Beat Him: 'I Could Have Died'

CHATSWORTH, CA – In the four days since he says he was attacked by looters in Van Nuys, Jorge Games still experiences fuzziness in what he can remember from the ordeal. But as he recovers, Games and his wife – a retired sergeant with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department – are now attempting to raise money to cover his medical costs and damage done to his truck during the attack on Monday.

According to a Go Fund Me effort launched this week by Games and his wife, Rebecca, this week, Games encountered looters in Van Nuys while driving in the area. When he asked them to move out of the path of his truck, the encounter became violent. The Go Fund Me page indicates that six looters began breaking out all but one of the truck's windows with a sledgehammer while they yelled racial slurs at Games. Games said he was pulled from his truck and attacked.

Rebecca Brust-Games wrote on the Go Fund Me that her husband was beaten in the head and face with 2x4’s. In an interview with Patch on Friday, Games said that he was robbed after he was struck the first time and beaten by the looters and when he attempted to recover his wallet from the group of "kids" that robbed him, he was struck in the back of the head by a 2x4, which knocked him unconscious.

"It was complete mayhem," Games told Patch. "(Looters) caught me by surprise and they came from every which way.

He added: "Maybe I should have fought more. Maybe I should have done more, but I was so overwhelmed by them. I kick myself in the butt for not trying to fight back, but if I would have fought back, I probably would have died."

After being unconscious for several minutes, Games said he woke up to a stranger standing over him who told Games that he needed to get to a safer area that where the attack took place. Games said he thought he was in a dream when the stranger kept slapping him and telling him to wake up and asking if he was OK.

Games said he then drove to a nearby intersection where members of the Los Angeles Police Department were stationed and asked for help. According to Games, he told to move on and officers refused to help him despite the fact he was bleeding. He said he pleaded for help and for one of 30 officers to call for medical assistance. Instead, he said that officers told him they were too busy and that they were working in an area where they are not normally assigned.

He said he is not anti-law enforcement given his wife’s position with the sheriff’s department. But Games, who lost his job due to the coronavirus pandemic, said that he is upset that officers refused to help him as he was bleeding following the incident.

A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Police Department told Patch on Friday that because Games did not file a police report with LAPD following the incident, the department has no information about the attack or officers’ response to Games during the unrest, during which the spokeswoman said LAPD officers handled several incidents in Van Nuys. Games' wife said Friday that the couple filed a police report with LAPD officers after Games was taken to the hospital.

"It has left a sour taste in my mouth for the police department," Games said Friday "We can't believe these officers did not take the time to ask me, 'Are you OK?'. ...They didn't care...they had no compassion at all. Not one officer came to help me."

According to the Go Fund Me, Games does not remember driving home, where Brust-Games said she called 911 to have her husband transported to a local trauma center. Brust-Grimes wrote that her husband was diagnosed with a concussion and suffered lacerations to his face, head, arms and hands and that he will need six weeks to recover. As of Friday, the couple's fundraising efforts have garnered more than $3,000 of the $5,000 goal, which will help with expenses.

Still, in the midst of everything that happened and his frustration with the police officers he said did not provide assistance, Games feels fortunate and now that he has seen the generosity of others who have donated has moved him closer to forgiveness and has allowed him to find peace with himself as his anger has started to subside.

Yet, as a victim that suffered injuries at the harm of looters, Games said their actions have taken away from the efforts of protestors who have marched peacefully since George Floyd's death last week in Minneapolis.

"That is not demonstration - that's not your free will to demonstrate your emotions," Games said of the protesting that has become violent. "That, to me, is just a bunch of opportunists who used the facade of a demonstration to do whatever they wanted to do and take whatever they wanted to take. They hid behind the Black Lives Matter cause to go ahead and loot.

"They didn't care about cause. They didn't care about the fight that was being fought for or the change people are trying to find with the system."