ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — A man suffered multiple injuries after falling into a construction pit at the site of the new Bills stadium prior to the kickoff of the home opener on Sunday.
Several videos have been posted on social media, showing the man exhibiting bizarre behavior outside of a porta-john near ECC South before the the game, where he appears to be covered with feces while stripping off his clothing.
When the security officers approached the man, he reportedly scampered over a 10-foot fence and bolted toward the pit which marks the site of the ongoing stadium construction.
"When they approached him he was naked and covered in human excrement and as they approached him he began to run toward the excavated area where the new stadium is going," said Erie County Undersheriff William J. Cooley.
Witnesses were shocked by what they saw next, as the man got to the edge of the construction pit.
"It's sort of shelved and tiered and as he was running he sort of tumbled down the first tier, got back up , and began to run again and tumbled down to the bottom of the excavated area," said Cooley, estimating the man came to rest about 30 feet below ground level.
Cooley added that when a crew from the Erie County Sheriff's helicopter spotted the man, he rose from where he was laying, and with one hand extended a peace sign and with the others began "mimicking masturbation".
After being taken to a hospital for treatment of cuts and bruises, the possible reason for the man's bizarre behavior became more clear.
"He made mention that he was under the influence of or had taken cocaine, LSD and marijuana," Cooley said.
The man, whom police have only identified as being 29 years of age, was charged with trespassing and issued appearance tickets to appear in court at a later date.
Two days prior to Sunday's game, 2 On Your Side had asked the Bills what was being done to keep people out of the construction site.
"We will definitely have a security presence," assured Andy major, the team's Vice President for Operations and Guest Experience. "There is a fence perimeter around there and it would be trespassing to get into that area," Major said on Friday. "So, yes, there's security, there's video surveillance , and there's an eye in the sky on the whole site."
While none of that was enough to stop the individual, Erie County Sheriff John Garcia noted that while the area is a secure construction site, it's not a fortress.
"It's a very large site and you can't put people every six feet," said Garcia. "You never anticipate something like this happening...and when somebody takes LSD, marijuana, cocaine, and they're drinking...whether it's running into traffic to scaling a ten foot fence, we can't prevent everything."
Still, Garcia says a review of security procedures is in order following the incident, which he said marred one of the best Sundays in recent memory in terms of crowd behavior at a game.