Island Records executive James A. Roppo is being charged with felony assault charges in district court in Hempstead over Twitter. The record executive failed to tweet a message to disperse a throng of tweenage girls who were trying to see pop star Justin Bieber at Long Island's Roosevelt Field Mall this past Friday.
That's right. He's being charged over a failure to tweet. According to New York Newsday, he is also being charged with endangering the welfare of a child, obstruction of governmental administration, reckless endangerment and criminal nuisance.
The crowd at the mall got up to 3,000 people. The crowd was made up of mostly girls who were clamoring to see Justin Bieber. The girls got aggressive and started pushing and shoving each other. As a result, five people got hurt with minor injuries. One of those who suffered an injury was a police officer from the Nassau Police.
New York Newsday reports that the Nassau Police claims that Mr. Roppo was requested by them to tweet a message to ask the tweenage crowd to leave. New York Newsday quotes Diane Peress who is Nassau County's Assistant DA as saying that the music executive created a "very dangerous situation" because he failed to help police by sending the Twitter message.
The DA also worried that more people could have been hurt by the event. She was quoted as saying: "It's a miracle more kids and more people weren't injured." She also said: "Young people were being pressed up against the glass." The railing was pushed against so hard by the crowd that it actually became bent.
The music executive plead not guilty to all of the charges. This is not the first time the Nassau County DA has tried to criminally charge over crowd control in a shopping area. Just a year ago it made sure to strike a deal over the Wal-Mart trampling death during Black Friday. Check out our Related Resources for more information.
Related Resources:
- If I am hurt because someone failed to act, might that person be found negligent and therefore be liable? (Findlaw)
- Wal-Mart Agrees to New Crowd-Control Measures After Trampling Death (Findlaw's Injured Blog)
- Justin Bieber Fans in Melee at a Mall (The New York Times)
- Classifications of Crimes (provided by A. Scott Grabel & Associates)
- Criminal Defense FAQ (provided by Michael T. Norris, Ltd. and John W. Callahan, Ltd.)