Rowdy Fans at Coliseum Events Now Face Arrest : Violence: Policy is toughened in the wake of the beating of a Steelers fan at Raiders game. In the past, disruptive spectators were usually escorted out of the stadium and released.

Rowdy fans at Raiders football games and other Los Angeles Coliseum events will be immediately arrested as part of a new get-tough policy designed to prevent further outbreaks of violence, Coliseum officials announced Thursday.

“We’re going to state that people will be arrested and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” said George Gonzalez, general manager of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and Sports Arena.

The action was prompted by the beating of a Pittsburgh Steelers fan at Sunday’s Los Angeles Raiders game. Paul Albrecht, a 35-year-old Tucson resident, was briefly in a coma and remained hospitalized Thursday in serious but improving condition at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center.

Shane Geringer, 19, of Agoura was arrested in the beating and released on bail. Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner said his office would make a decision on filing charges against Geringer early next week after investigators try to find witnesses at Sunday’s game with the Chicago Bears.

“We’ll have investigators in the area where the incident occurred,” Reiner said. “We assume there are season ticket-holders there. In all likelihood, people at the Bear game Sunday will have seen the incident the week before.”

Before last week’s incident, most fans who engaged in fighting or other disruptive activity were escorted from the stadium and released, Gonzalez said. Under the new policy, stadium officials will ask police to arrest such fans, he said.

Gonzalez said stadium officials agreed to take the tougher stance after meeting Wednesday with Deputy Chief William Rathburn of the Los Angeles Police Department and City Atty. James Hahn.

The new policy will be instituted at this Sunday’s game against the Bears. Fans will be notified of the policy by a taped message played on loudspeakers as they enter the stadium.

Also Thursday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors sent a letter of apology “on behalf of the residents of Los Angeles County” to the injured Steelers fan.

“We were extremely saddened by the incident which occured at the Raiders-Steelers game resulting in your hospitalization,” said the letter, which was signed by all five supervisors and sent to Albrecht at his hospital room.

“We have requested the district attorney to prosecute the case to the full extent of the law without any type of plea bargaining,” the letter added.