Rap Concert's Security Criticized By Authorities

City officials today blamed the Paramount Theatre and a concert promoter for not notifying Seattle police sooner of security needs at a rap concert Saturday night that ended with gunfire, a stabbing and fights.

Seattle police say they did their best on short notice after a costly lapse in preparation. The promoter says the Paramount Theatre should have arranged outside security well in advance. And a Paramount official today blamed "the people with the guns."

Five people were taken to the hospital as a result of the violence after the concert by Ice Cube. Three were shot, one was stabbed and one was hit by a vehicle. One of the injured, a 20-year-old man who was struck by a car, was in satisfactory condition at Harborview Medical Center. The others were treated and released.

Seattle police Capt. Clark Kimerer said Paramount officials and concert promoters did not notify authorities about the possible need for additional security until four hours before the concert.

And, said Kimerer, promoters themselves told police the event "could lead to some real problems, some violence."

Carole Pucik, general manager of the Paramount, said she didn't know when police were notified about the concert because she didn't make the call, but theater policy says police are typically given a week's notice before an event.

"The police were notified, and there was police presence," she said. "If I have any fingers to point, it's at the people with the guns.

"I think what happened was going to happen," Pucik said. " . . . I don't know how we could have stopped it. We took every reasonable precaution that we could."

David Boyd of Federal Way, a co-promoter for the concert, said that had authorities been outside in greater force, the melee could have been avoided.

But Chief Patrick Fitzsimons today said Seattle police did respond adequately before the show, especially considering the late notice. A mobile precinct van was brought to the theater as a command post for 25 uniformed officers and 13 plainclothes detectives, some of whom were in the crowd when the shooting began.

"The scene there couldn't have been covered much better than we had it," Fitzsimons said. "That's why we had seven arrests."

Advance notice would have helped communication between officers outside and security people inside, the chief said. "The theater and promoters have a responsibility to ensure it's a safe event."

Boyd, who has worked previously with the Paramount and rapper Ice Cube, conceded "the responsibility of not notifying police lies with Paramount and the promoters."

Kimerer said that when Paramount officials were unable to obtain the proper permits to close the streets around the theater before, during and after the concert, they asked police to "just close it anyway."

Extra officers called

"At that point the lieutenant called me at home and I authorized overtime - taxpayer dollars - because the safety concerns were so serious," Kimerer said.

About 25 officers were called in to work overtime for the show because of the short notice, he said.

"I think it is unreasonable for Paramount or the promoters to assume taxpayers should bear the costs for providing security at a profit-making event," he said. "Even more significantly, I think it's unreasonable to assume the police department should, on a few hours' notice, reassign officers because adequate security arrangements have not been made by the Paramount."

An estimated 1,200 people attended the concert, and Boyd said security inside the theater was adequate.

"I don't have an answer as to why there wasn't adequate notification," he said. "It seems that even if they're notified at that late date and they knew they were needed, they should be there. It would have been a good time to show how fast they can respond."

Ice Cube's security officials were upset about the lack of security and told police the Paramount had promised the performer adequate security to handle the show, Kimerer said.

City officials met today to determine what security provisions were made Saturday night, what could have been done to prevent the violence and whether the promoter can be held accountable for the incident, said Mark Murray, spokesman for Mayor Norm Rice.

"We want to continue to have events where young people and people from all interests can see the performing arts," said Murray.

"We've got to make sure it's done in a way that doesn't jeopardize the safety of the audience or the safety of people on our streets."

Pucik said the theater takes extra precautions with any shows where a rowdy audience is expected, and Saturday's incident will certainly affect future shows at the Paramount. Shows that are likely to bring rowdy crowds will be analyzed on a case-by-case basis.

Said Murray: "Clearly, we will want greater cooperation, greater involvement of our police and our youth specialists in the planning and security planning of these events and we will want greater assurances security arrangements are in place."

That's already happening with other concerts, including events held at Seattle Center. Concert organizers follow a band's route through the country, tracking problems at previous concerts.

About seven to 10 days before the Seattle concert, police, private security and concert organizers meet to chart security measures, said Jim Weyermann, Seattle Center marketing and events-servicing director.

Based on those concert reports, security can be added or shifted. If there are a number of weapons confiscated at the door or if concertgoers on the tour have a history of jumping the barricade, for example, security can be concentrated in those areas, Weyermann said.

Weyermann links Saturday night's violence to the sheer number of people at the event, not to the specific type of music played.

"Whenever you're going to be bringing 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 people together, you're going to deal with a certain percentage of the element who aren't interested in participating in the spirit of the show or concert," he said. "They're going to be yelling or screaming. There's going to be flash points. . . . That energy, if you let it go in the wrong direction, can spark."

Witnesses to the melee and police said the trouble Saturday night started when gang members began displaying gang hand signs as Ice Cube took the stage.

According to police spokeswoman Vinette Tichi, a fight began inside the theater around 9:30 p.m. Once the concert ended about a half-hour later, as many as 400 people spilled out into the street and theater parking lot, where several more fights broke out and a stabbing occurred.

Exactly what happened then isn't clear. Police estimate 30 to 50 shots were fired, some striking concertgoers around the theater and the parking lot. Police are still trying to piece the incident together.

Two homicide officers responding to the stabbing were fired at from a car at Ninth Avenue and Pine Street. Five occupants inside the car from which the shots were fired were arrested. Four of the five are from Bremerton. The other is from Seattle. Three are juveniles.

The crowd scattered as officers returned fire at the car, which sped away, hitting a pedestrian and another car.

Meanwhile, a teenage male was arrested afer he was seen firing shots at people in a nearby parking lot, police said.

"It was a very confusing scene, with shots reportedly fired at four or five locations around and near the Paramount," said Tichi.

Last night, officers from the city's gang unit fanned the streets, hoping high visibility would curb retaliatory violence.

Ice Cube doesn't perform live often because of the possibility of violence, but Saturday's performance was his second this year at the Paramount.

In March, the 22-year-old rapper appeared for a 30-minute show. There was no violence following that performance.

This isn't the first time the Paramount has seen violence, or been criticized for lack of security.

Two years ago, a fight between rival street gangs broke out inside the theater during a high-school talent show.

In that incident, two teenagers required hospitalization for head injuries.