Sam Pikula shows the stitches in his scalp where plates were put into his head after being beaten in downtown Fargo.
FARGO (KFGO) – A man who was severely beaten in downtown Fargo earlier this month is speaking out.
Sam Pikula suffered multiple broken bones in his face, including both orbital bones, his nose in five places, and his forehead was injured so badly he needed a titanium plate inserted. He was left with around 30 stitches that run from ear to ear across the top of his head.
Pikula was visiting with a friend in the 600 block of NP Avenue early on April 6 when he says he saw a man on the ground being beaten by a group of six men across the street.
“I just went over there and they were beating on the guy,” Pikula says. “I tried getting them off of him and they jumped me.”
Pikula says he was punched in the back of the head and knocked to the ground.
“I just curled up in a ball and tried protecting myself, but that’s when they started kicking,” Pikula says. “I didn’t have a single bruise anywhere else on my body. The only thing that got hurt, or attacked, or anything was my face.”
Pikula says he was awake for the entire beating. He didn’t know any of the men involved, including the first man who was being beaten.
“It ended up being six African American guys,” Pikula says. “They were all wearing hoodies. They were just laughing and running away.”
Pikula says, when the men finally stopped kicking him, people tried helping.
“There was a lady from the [Old Broadway] with a wet rag. They put it on my nose,”Pikula says. “I was trying to get people to snap my nose in place, but nobody could do that – they didn’t want to do that. A police officer showed up about 10 minutes after it happened and he said he couldn’t do it either. [The officer] said I had more than just a broken nose going on. My forehead was kind of pushed into itself. They did a number on me.”
Pikula after surgeries to repair his broken nose and orbital bones, and to add a titanium plate to his forehead.
Surgeons worked for three hours to repair the damage to Pikula’s face. He was hospitalized for five days and has been out of work since the beating. He says, if everything goes okay, he shouldn’t need anymore surgeries.
Pikula says he hopes to get his day in court and wants to see the men who beat him prosecuted.
Pikula and his father, Chad, say they want people to know that downtown Fargo isn’t safe anymore, especially for women. Sam Pikula says he often sees fights downtown.
Chad Pikula says instead of worrying about loud mufflers, the City Commission and police chief should be putting officers downtown.
“The commissioners in Fargo are complaining about the damn loud mufflers, the racing on 52nd Avenue, and stuff like that. I think the chief of police has a little bit bigger fish to fry than worrying about some kids on their motorcycles with loud mufflers,” Chad Pikula says. “They need more bodies downtown at those hours than on the streets watching for people playing, basically.”
Fargo Police say the case is under investigation.
Comments