HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston police and fire departments were deeply involved in safety measures for the music festival where a surging crowd killed eight people…
HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston police and fire departments were deeply involved in safety measures for the music festival where a surging crowd killed eight people, playing key roles in crowd control measures, on-site security staffing and the emergency response. The police chief even met with the headlining performer before the show. Now the city’s police department is leading the criminal investigation into how the deadly chaos erupted during Friday night’s performance by rapper Travis Scott. While a prominent local official is calling for a separate, independent review of the tragedy, experts in crowd safety say an investigation by neutral outsiders could help the city avoid potential conflicts of interest and promote transparency. Houston Police Department spokeswoman Jodi Silva declined to comment on questions about whether its close involvement in the event created a conflict or if it considered handing the probe off to an outside agency. Such decisions are often made in investigations like police shootings. “All of the information we have available to put out at this time has been placed out on Twitter,” Silva said. The police department’s probe would be separate from any independent investigation ordered by County Judge Lina Hidalgo, Harris County’s top elected official, according to Rafael Maitre, a spokesman for the judge’s office. Hidalgo hasn’t decided who would conduct such an independent review or how it would be done, Maitre said Monday. “She wants to know if this could have been prevented in any way,” Maitre said. “It’s also entirely possible that it was not preventable for whatever reason, and that’s something we would like to know, as well.” Key questions remained unanswered after the Astroworld festival at county-owned NRG Park. Some of the lingering questions involve what the Houston police and fire departments did before, during and after a crowd surged toward the stage, killing eight people and injuring dozens of others. Others center on the actions of event organizers. Officials with the Houston police and fire departments have said that part of their investigation will include reviewing whether the concert promoter and others behind the festival adhered to the plans that were submitted for the event. Astroworld’s organizers laid out security and emergency medical response protocols for the festival in plans filed with Harris County.
