Police Shut Down College Show

A college event featuring Slightly Stoopid in Gainesville, Fla., was shut down prematurely by the police over medical concerns and an unexpected crowd size, according to police.

Police shut down the Save My Oceans concert at the University of Florida’s Flavet Field March 27 because at least eight people needed medical attention, according to the Gainesville Sun. About 12,000 people showed for the concert, which also featured G. Love & Special Sauce, but police anticipated only 500, according to Police Lt. Robert Wagner.

Because there were more than the usual number of calls for medical assistance prior to Slightly Stoopid taking the stage, police opted to pull the plug halfway into the headliner’s 90-minute show.

“We were told from the officers that they were concerned people were getting hurt,” Student Government Productions Chairman Aaron Crespin told the paper. Officers told organizers several people had been taken away in ambulances and there was a concern they could not reach others in need of medical attention.

“After that point, they had enough and wanted to shut the show down,” Crespin said. “We were as disappointed if not more disappointed that it got put down.”

Crespin told the college newspaper that about 11 people were taken away in ambulances and, at one point, Slightly Stoopid lead singer Miles Doughty asked the crowd to help carry out a person who appeared to be unconscious.

Crespin said police knew the free show would be well attended and, according to the Sun, news reports said in advance the crowd was expected to be more than 10,000. Crespin blamed the police’s misconception on the wording of a university affairs permit that was not meant as an actual crowd estimate, the Sun said.

A supervisor and eight officers reportedly worked the show and there were no physical arrests, although witnesses told the Sun the crowd was “pretty mad” when the police pulled the plug.