According to the NY Times, 228 people were arrested in conjunction with the Phish concerts held at Madison Square Garden, over the first three nights of the four night run. While the majority of these arrests are misdemeanors (including public urination), at least ten people will be charged with felonies. Why? Because they tried to sell drugs to an undercover cop.
After two drug-related deaths at the Electric Zoo Festival last September, it seems that NYPD is almost trying to prove itself in a music-and-drugs setting , and MSG provided the perfect opportunity.
However, the police did confiscate a great deal of narcotics from Phish fans, including “marijuana, hash, psychedelic mushrooms, LSD, MDMA or ecstasy, amphetamine and prescription drugs like Oxycodone, OxyContin and Xanax, among other drugs.” Midtown Manhattan is a major destination for tourists on New Year’s Eve, so perhaps the increased police presence at MSG was an attempt to secure the area.
For anyone who has attended a Phish concert, this news is particularly unsettling. Not a single one of the 228 arrests was for an act of violence or vandalism. Sure, some Phish fans take drugs… We just wish the police were more concerned with actual safety. I guess we just miss Sgt. Price.
-David Melamed (@DMelamz)
[Source for photo and story: New York Times]