A man who says he wanted to protest the appearance of Paris Hilton during her book signing at the Grove in 2023 is suing the mall management and other entities, alleging he was battered and falsely arrested by a security guard.
Peter Lecki’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit names multiple defendants Caruso Management Co. Ltd., A.F. Gilmore Co., GFM LLC, Critical Solutions-Protective Services LLC and one of the latter’s security guards. Lecki alleges civil rights violations, negligence, violation of the state constitution, false imprisonment and false arrest.
Lecki seeks unspecified compensatory damages as well as punitive damages against the guard. Representatives for Caruso, Gilmore and Critical Solutions did not immediately reply to requests for comment on the suit brought Monday.
According to the San Mateo County resident’s suit, he was trying to peacefully protest the wearing of animal fur by making his views known during a March 22, 2023 book signing at Barnes & Noble by Hilton, who the suit states “wears fur despite the animal cruelty concerns with its production.”
Lecki, carrying protest signs and a banner while also pulling a loudspeaker on wheels with the sounds of animals being skinned alive, was walking at the intersection of Gilmore Way and First Street, about a block from the book store, when a security guard employed by Critical Solutions stepped in front of the plaintiff, pushed him back and told him to leave or be arrested, the suit alleges.
When Lecki refused to leave, the guard “grabbed and manhandled” the plaintiff, purported to make a citizen’s arrest and took him to a detention center in the mall’s basement, the suit states.
Knowing there was no lawful basis to arrest Lecki for trespassing, the guard told police after they arrived that he had detained the plaintiff for battery, convincing them to take Lecki to jail, the suit states.
However, Lecki’s body-worn camera showed he was the victim of a battery and not the guard, according to the suit.