oh please, like everyone that was already there and screaming their lungs out would have just whipped out their phones, checked his twitter and went home peacefully.

i've seen those crowds for others before, sanity is something that is checked at the door.

love to see how those charges stand up in court.

Man...when I was 15 girls would barely even talk to me. I guess this might be worse though?

lol wow, arrested for refusing to use twitter? The stupidity here is immense.

we got people getting fired and arrested for tweeting...

NOW we got people getting fired and arrested for NOT tweeting?????

wtf????

It is an intriguing story considering that Twitter is a relatively new...well whatever Twitter is...

but anyway I still think the cops were in the right. Especially if he really was also still promoting autographs and crap while they tried to clear the place out. People really can get badly hurt and it was their job to calm things down.

You're welcome to disagree with me but in that case I'd suggest you've that forgotten the Wal-Mart employee that got trampled over the xbox, and I'd also suggest you don't know much about ravenous packs of teenage girls.

You make a valid point that they still might not have left...but it doesn't change his non-compliance. People have died in similar situations that were less intense and had even fewer people around. I'm not sure if the charges would stand but I think they should.

(any others)
No. The article states what it states, not what you want it to state. He was arrested for not complying with a police order that tried to prevent damage and injuries.

A Twitter msg from James Roppo?? They would have been like, "wtf is James Roppo?!!"


And before this post, I would have been like, "wtf is Justin Bieber?!"

I am one of the first people to stand up for police and the government in general and still think this is obnoxious. "they are not allowing me to come into the mall. if you dont leave I and my fans will be arrested as the police just told us."

I understand there is probably some legal way this could be done, but it's complete bullshit that you would arrest a musician for having fans.

I think they need to clarify whether Roppo actually -got- this alleged message from the police. It says they asked. Asked how? Left a message with his secretary? Actually talked to him? Hell, maybe they sent out their own 'tweet' telling him to do so.

Also, as said, I as well doubt people would have just checked twitter when they're all excited about the event. And yes, it does matter. If the police actually wanted results, they would have asked Roppo to actually go to the mall and make an announcement. Arresting him for not tweeting, whether it was non-compliance or not, is a bit ridiculous. Arresting him for not physically trying to do something, which apparently they didn't ask him to do, might make sense, depending on his schedule.

The police are obviously looking for a scapegoat on this one.

"However, tweets from Justin's profile show the 15-year-old R&B singer tried to send people home on two occasions.

they are not allowing me to come into the mall. if you dont leave I and my fans will be arrested as the police just told us.

the event at roosevelt mall is cancelled. please go home. the police have already arrested one person from my camp. I dont want anyone hurt"

Unless Bieber's later actions contradicted his tweets, I think he is off the hook.

OTOH, if the police ask you to do something, and you do not have a very good reason not to, why not simply comply?

So the police in Canada don't have megaphones?

I guess not.

Wait, since when was Long Island in Canada? They haven't attacked and taken it over, have they? I mean, it's just a matter of time before they do, but I thought I would have heard about it when it happens.

WTF, since when is crowd control the responsibility of someone other than the police?

Hey you come over and direct traffic or you'll go to jail. I need to grab a doughnut and some coffee.

The charges wont stand. Not sure how much different the legal system is up there but if it's anything similar to the US technically it's not his responsibility. If the police are incompetent enough to not be able to handle the situation I think they have a bigger problem and any lawyer worth their degree will tell you that.

Roosevelt Field mall is a crappy mall in Long Island, New York, about an hour drive from NYC. Not CANADA.

Hell if I was that guy I would have asked the police for some riot gear before even trying to break up that group in way.

nobody gives a fuck, seriously guys i have the case of the mondays. I look forward to some awesome computer news and what not and it when i get shit like this, no offense to justin or anyone; i am just pissed. fucking hate mondays

The police have no right to tell me what to do. Its my right to make decisions NOT THEIRS. If they say put the gun to your head and pull the trigger, will you? If not, you'll get arrested.

This guy should not be arrested. It looks like he did send out tweet message.

Even if he was signing autographs which so far there is no proof of that. He could've been told while doing it, but that just wouldn't make good news so of course they would have to leave that out.

The police are in the wrong on this one. IT'S THEIR JOB! To do crowd control not civilians.

I agree. I think it'll be interesting to see if the charges stand in court though. Could become new case law. However, if this guy was really still trying to promote the event (through his own greed) while Police were asking him to help alleviate the problem, then he deserves whatever punishment he gets.

You're right, and wrong. It is the police department's job to maintain peace. However, this guy had notoriety and stature with the crowd. He could easily have announced the cancellation, which would have bummed out the little girls and they would have left. However, if the police showed up in riot gear and started shoving the crowd around, things could have turned violent, and someone could have become injured.

Think about it for a second. Which is a better option? Using force to remove a crowd, or using mass communication from the event's coordinator to advise the crowd that there was no longer any reason to be there.

I think the police were WELL within their rights to request this guy help alleviate the problem, to prevent mass pandemonium. If he did indeed continue to promote the event, thereby keeping the crowd on premises, then he's sorta helped instigate a riot if you will.

Most boring tech article I've read so far...

We have megaphones. Unfortunately, their reach doesn't get to NYC. We're working on that.

Talk about an absolutely illegal arrest. Law enforcement cannot, by law(U.S. Constitution and other documents), compel a citizen engage in actions of the government. These officers stepped outside of the bounds of their authority and they need to be called to the carpet for it.

I would sue the living shit out of the police department and the government that the department works for. It is not the duty of citizens to do law enforcement's job. Violating someone's right "under color of law" is a serious violation and will net the offending officers federal prison time.

What about natural selection and natural consequences? I mean... if you let your teen age daughter go to see a Canadian pop star then maybe you deserve to have your progeny trampled? eh?

ooh.. © first... great band name "Trampled Progeny".

Who?

I could see it working something like this: "So you called on a fan base of a Top 40 star (a big deal in the US) to descend for an event onto a venue that isn't remotely prepared? OK, call them off or we will take you to jail"

The publicist (at least by the sound of it) was complicit to compromising public safety by his first action of (poorly) arranging the whole thing. He was offered a way out, if he could get the fans to dispel before it got ugly. He chose not to, and for that he is all the more complicit on item 1. This isn't a "to tweet or not to tweet" issue, it's a "you did something dangerous followed by something even MORE dangerous... jail4u"

So a mall isn't set up for huge crowds of people?
Sounds like a pretty crappy mall to me...

Worst case scenario is a fine for the so called "star"
The free publicity is worth every penny...
And if he goes to prison he can transition from R&B to Gangsta!!!