Hard Summer 2009 shut down by LAPD riot police

The annual Hard Summer musical festival in Los Angeles was shut down Saturday night following a decision by the by the City of Inglewood that security and safety issues were getting out of hand.

Reports are sketchy at this stage about exactly what occurred, although the organizers confirmed the news, saying that “We are terribly sorry. Inglewood PD made the decision to shut down the event tonight much to our astonishment and yours.”

One unconfirmed report claims Hard Summer was oversold, leading to capacity issues which then caused the shutdown. Another report claims that attendees were breaking into the entrance to get into the venue due to long delays at security checks.

Making matters worse would appear to be the way the Hard Summer shut down took place. Instead of shutting the event down completely, music was cut off for two hours without explanation while Inglewood Police and the LAPD riot squad got into place outside the venue. Attendees were also blocked from leaving the venue during the two hours and were being arrested if they tried to leave.

Other reports though suggest that the police action was justified and that the crowd had already started to riot before the shutdown was ordered. Users on Twitter claimed that the organizers had inadequate security and quickly lost control of significant portions of the crowd.

(img: DJABomb)