’s lawyer and representative have accused the timing of the release of the police report into the 2021 Astroworld tragedy as ‘anything but coincidental’.
The report, released by the Houston Police Department, emerged on Friday – the same day as Scott , Utopia.
On November 5, 2021, and when a crowd of roughly 50,000 surged forwards, leaving fans unable to breathe.
Hundreds of lawsuits were filed against as well as promoters Live Nation and others involved in the event.
However last month a Texas grand jury ruled that the rapper and that ‘no single individual was criminally responsible’ for the tragedy.
Scott’s lawyer Ken Schaeffer has now accused Houston police of releasing the report on Friday to both hurt the rapper’s album sales – and take the heat off law enforcement for not holding him criminally responsible – with Houston PD insisting it is a ‘coincidence’.
A rep for the star later told TMZ in a statement that the release of the report coinciding with Scott’s album is ‘anything but coincidental’.
They noted that Scott and his team were ‘fully cleared of any wrongdoing’ and claimed the HPD were using ‘tactics that attempt to discredit Travis and his team, casting doubt on how the unfortunate events at Astroworld actually transpired while deflecting blame from their own critical failures.’
The rep went on to say Scott was committed to his audience’s safety and had ‘stopped the show three separate times’ but ‘Houston police officers present at the event did not intervene during the unfolding situation.’
They claimed officers ‘were observed throughout the show standing by idly, buying merch and even filming the concert in its entirety.’
‘We encourage the Houston PD to make peace with the fact that Travis Scott and his team were found innocent of any wrongdoing and to focus on what really matters – making sure tragedies like Astroworld never occur again under their watch.’
A Texas grand jury found last month that ‘no crime did occur, that no single individual was criminally responsible.’
In response, Scott’s spokesperson said he was ‘wrongly singled out’ following the tragedy.
Other lawsuits are still pending decisions, including a case brought by who was Ki**ed at Astroworld.
Attorney Robert Hilliard, who represents the boy’s family, said in a statement”: ‘Both criminal and civil accountability are critical to ensure that those responsible for the loss of innocent lives understand the permanent devastation they caused these families.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted the Houston PD and reps for Scott for comment.
