I'll be straight with you. I don't really understand all of the hoopla surrounding the so-called Crosstown Classic between the Cubs and White Sox. Sure, there's a certain level of animosity that comes with two teams inhabiting the same city, but there are no heated divisional races, no long history of hatred and other factors usually endemic to a heated rivalry.
But, thankfully my humble opinion doesn't stop Cubs and Sox fans from really causing a ruckus when the two match-up. It makes for a usually good-natured, high-stakes atmosphere six times a year.
Alas, these type of scenes can turn ugly. Case in point: A woman leaving a Crosstown Classic game at U.S. Cellular Field last summer is suing the city and a Chicago police officer after a horse belonging to the CPD's mounted unit stepped on and crushed her foot while police attempted to get a rowdy crowd under control.
What do you think? Does Grafton have grounds for a suit or should we cut the police some slack as they tried to manage a hostile scene?"Katie Grafton was leaving a White Sox and Cubs game at the South Side stadium on June 28, 2008 when the crowd leaving the stadium "began shouting and carrying on," according to a lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit court Thursday.
Grafton was waiting to cross 35th Street with her fiancée and others when an officer, whose name is unknown, approached on horseback in the street. The officer's back was to Grafton and he began blowing his whistle and yelling at the crowd in an effort to get them under control, the suit alleges.
The officer's horse--which weighed an estimated 1,200 pounds--became frightened of the noise and began jumping, with its left hoof landing on Grafton's left foot, the suit said.
Grafton began yelling, "There's a horse on my foot," at least three times but could not get the officer's attention, the suit said. The horse on "its own accord" eventually removed its hoof from her foot.
Suit: Police horse crushed woman's foot during post-ballgame chaos (STNG Wire)
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