Report Raps Cops, CUNY Stampede victims could have been helped, probe asserts [CITY Edition] Newsday

Print Media Edition: Combined editions Long Island, N.Y. Jan 15, 1992

Authors: By Jennifer Preston.

CITY HALL BUREAU CHIEF. William

Pagination: 05

Personal Names: Mollen, Milton Carlin, Daniel TFa Araouzos, John Kirnon, Cassaundra

(Copyright Newsday Inc., 1992)

The Police Department and City University will come under harsh criticism in a mayoral report on the deaths of nine young people who were crushed in the stairwell of a City College gymnasium last month, according to two senior city officials. The final draft of the report, prepared by Deputy Mayor Milton Mollen, sharply criticizes the Police Department for not responding more swiftly and forcefully to disperse the crowd inside and outside the gymnasium building before the celebrity basketball game that was to feature rap artists, officials said.

The report also is expected to hit the Police Department for not responding quickly to assist victims who were trampled in the stairwell. In particular, the report is expected to question the steps taken that night by police Capt. Daniel T. Carlin, who was on the scene, overseeing 66 police officers initially called to the campus to help control the huge crowds outside the gym. Police have estimated that about 5,000 people went to the Harlem campus to see the game, although the gym's capacity is about 2,730. Mollen declined yesterday to comment on the report, which is expected to made public tomorrow. John Araouzos, an associate athletic director at the college, told Mollen and his staff that he pleaded with Carlin for help that night after he saw two people faint in the crush. Araouzos alleged that Carlin did not respond to his pleas for five to seven minutes and instead blasted him for the college's lack of security.

Suzanne Trazoff, the deputy police commissioner for public information, said yesterday that police officials have not yet seen the report. Police union officials have denied Araouzos' account. City University also comes under attack in the report, sources said, along with the promoter, Sean Combs, for not properly overseeing the organization of the event and ensuring adequate security measures were taken. For example, the report will point out that Cassaundra Kirnon, the president of the Evening Student Government at City College, failed to inform college officials how many people she expected to attend the event. On the application, which apparently was never questioned by college administrators, Kirnon wrote "N/A" in the section regarding how large a crowd she expected. The report is expected to point out that no one questioned Kirnon further about the lack of information. Charles DeCicco, a spokesman for City College, said that college officials would not comment until they have seen the report.

Promising that his administration would not present a "whitewash" of the events leading to the Dec. 28 fatal crush, Mayor David N. Dinkins instructed Mollen to conduct a thorough investigation. 1) Newsday Photo by Michael E. Ach- Grieving relatives leave City College gym after identifying stampede victim. A mayoral report assails police and City University officials over the incident. 2) Newsday Photo by John Paraskevas- Deputy Mayor Milton Mollen Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction or distribution is prohibited without permission.

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