To no surprise no Kanye West story goes away easily… and this one is no surprise.
In light of his Sunday night (June 5) pop-up concert announcement, a New York Police Department spokesman has told PEOPLE magazine that what Ye did was not considered a crime … despite some cars enduring damage in the Webster Hall area of NY.
As an estimated 4,000 people crowded the streets outside Webster Hall in the East Village at 2 a.m.. The crowded conditions outside the hall led dozens of fans to stand on cars. Despite the chaos, the concert never took place.
Shortly before 2 a.m., Webster Hall tweeted, “There is no late show at Webster Hall tonight. Please get home safely.”
NYPD’s Nick Casale says that although Yeezy was irresponsible for making the initial Tweet, he did nothing that broke the law.
“His actions Sunday were irresponsible, which would almost be a compliment for a guy like Kanye,” he says. “In my opinion, what he did Sunday night did not cross the threshold of criminality.”
Casale suggests that people could file civil lawsuits for damage to their cars or other property that occurred in the events, “but it’s really kind of a stretch to even hold him civilly responsible.”
Eugene O’Donnell, a former NYPD policeman who now teaches at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, agrees that Ye shouldn’t be held responsible.
“Not every dumb idea should be criminalized,” O’Donnell explains, noting that it would be difficult for prosecutors to bring charges of inciting a crowd or even disorderly conduct against West because it would be nearly impossible to prove his intentions.
“You must show there was some sort of intent behind his Tweet and that he wanted to create a tumultuous situation,” O’Donnell states. “It was a really bad idea and totally irresponsible, given this city has a history of people being stampeded and killed in public assemblages that are uncontrolled and spontaneous. It’s not a stretch to think a loss of life or some sort of serious injury could have occurred outside that venue. In that regard, he may have dodged a bullet.”
Still, O’Donnell claims a prosecutor could conceivably “stretch the limits of the law” and file criminal charges against West to “set an example.”
However, “even if what he did is a technical crime, whether the District Attorney would pursue it is another issue,” O’Donnell explains. “What he did was highly irresponsible, at a minimum, and people could have been seriously injured of killed. At the most, what he did just shows a complete disregard for the well-being of New York City and his fans.”
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