Fatal Crush Occurred at CCNY [CITY Edition]

Newsday

Print Media Edition: Combined editions Long Island, N.Y. Jan 16, 1992

Authors: By Joseph A. Gambardello. STAFF WRITER

Pagination: 02

The crowd came early and just kept growing. And while the crowd grew and surged into an unruly mass, police and private security guards who were supposed to keep order failed to coordinate their efforts. That is the recurring theme of Deputy Mayor Milton Mollen's reconstruction of events leading up to the deadly crush at City College on Dec. 28. Although the rap celebrity basketball game was not scheduled to start until 6 p.m., spectators started arriving at City College as early as 2 p.m. At about 3 p.m., a contingent of X-Men security guards hired for the event arrived at the Nat Holman Gym, along with the company's president, Anthony Richard. "Mr. Richard was surprised by the large number of people already congregating at the building," the report states, adding that X-Men guards set up two lines at the 138th Street entrance, one for ticket holders, the other for those seeking to buy tickets. During the next hour, Timothy Brown, the CCNY security superviser for the event, Louis Tucker, security officer for the promoter, and Richard were introduced to each other.

The report states that at no time did the men discuss coordinating security arrangements among themselves or with police. Meanwhile, Pinkerton guards hired by the college for the event arrived and were posted at entrances that were to remain closed. At 3:45 p.m., promoter Sean Combs, known as Puff Daddy, arrived and started making arrangements for collecting and selling tickets. After giving their pre-paid tickets or paying $20, spectators were to be given numbered tickets for entry to the gym. Only one doorway down a flight of stairs was to be used to enter the gym, and the lone guard posted there to collect tickets was hired by Combs. About 1,500 people had gathered outside the gym at 4 p.m. - two hours before game time - but the crowd was "orderly and waiting in line," the report states. The first police contingent - a sergeant and 10 officers - arrived about 5 p.m., about the same time ticket holders were allowed to enter the building.

At the first set of doors, the fans were frisked by X-Men guards, who, the report says, controlled the flow of people. All was generally quiet until several celebrities arrived at 5:30 p.m. The crowd "began to become restless and push forward," prompting police and X-Men guards to create a "frozen zone" in front of the building entrance. A videotape shows that at 5:20 p.m. a large crowd milling about in front of the entrance was "somewhat out of control," the report says. The crowd continued to grow and to surge outside, toppling barricades and pressing against the glass doors and windows. Around 6 p.m., tempers flared when some gate crashers got in through the ticket holders' line and some ticket holders pushed forward. The human surge caused glass windows to sway and one pane in a glass door shattered. Police answered a request to enter the lobby and clear the area. Combs asked police to use bullhorns to tell all non-ticket holders outside to go home.

"It is unclear whether such efforts were made," the report says. At 6:04 p.m., Police Sgt. Randall asked the Manhattan North Task Force for backup. Ten minutes later, Randall and Richard, the X-Men leader, decided to move some of the crowd down to the 136th Street entrance, which also fronts on Convent Avenue. Signs of serious trouble started becoming evident. There was pushing and shoving at the 136th Street entrance, and several people passed out. Then the crowd stormed through the doors and down a corridor leading to the 138th Street lobby, where there was still no let-up of pressure. Glass doors at 138th Street were shattered and pulled from their hinges. At 6:20 p.m., 21 more cops arrived, followed 10 minutes later by Duty Capt. Daniel Carlin, who ordered the northern set of doors at the 138th Street entrance barricaded.

Twenty-nine more cops requested by Carlin soon arrived. The report says that at 6:50 p.m., the crowd outside seemed to be under control. CCNY Security Director Charles Delaney also told Carlin about this time that security inside was under control, although Delaney had not been inside all day. Inside, though, pressure was mounting. There was concern about the money and Combs' associate, Jessica Rosenblum, picked up two money trays and headed down the stairs into the gym with a guard and four of the women who had been working at the ticket table.

Benjamin Andrews, who entered with his cousin and several friends who were part of a rap group, also went down the stairwell about this time and found the four metal doors closed with about 50 people waiting. Then there was a stampede. Ticket tables were shoved aside and people ran down the stairs. "There was no security personnel on the staircase," the report says. Andrews estimated that 150 people were in the stampede. A police officer, noting a commotion in the stairwell, told Carlin, who indicated he was "targeting his efforts" to crowd control outside. At 7:11 p.m., Pinkerton guards heard on their walkie talkies a report of "people going down." "It is estimated that the crush in the stairwell originated at approximately 6:55 p.m.," the report states. At 7:04 p.m., a man - believed to be Andrews using a celluar phone - called 911. More calls followed.

After considerable confusion about what was happening, Emergency Medical Service canceled the initial calls for an ambulance. Another call, at 7:20 p.m., did make clear the severity of the problem and an ambulance was dispatched at 7:23 p.m. The first EMS unit arrived at 7:28 p.m.; for nine people, it was too late. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

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