11 Injured from Overcrowding at Super Bowl Village

Overcrowding at a free outdoor LMFAO concert lead to the injuries

A "human gridlock" at Indianapolis' Super Bowl Village has police rethinking how they will handle crowd control on the eve of the big game.

"It looked like a lot of people having a good time," Super Bowl Host Committee spokeswoman Dianna Boyce said. "When you have 200,000 people, you have to continue to keep everyone safe."

Eleven people were injured Friday night as an estimated 50,000 people flooded downtown for a free outdoor concert by the band LMFAO. Two other people were injured the same night separate from the concert-going group. Indianapolis Public Safety Director Frank Straub said none of the injuries were serious, most involving shortness of breath or scraped knees.

In addition to the injuries, police made a total of 22 arrests Friday night, mostly for public intoxication. One police car was damaged after concert-goers climbed on top of it to get a better view of the stage.

To make more room for people downtown, police closed down some streets completely and others just to inbound traffic. Additional officers were stationed near Super Bowl Village.

Officials were still tweaking their downtown plan Saturday as they prepared for more concerts and activities before kickoff, and they seemed to be pleased with the early results

Security planning for the big game began over a year ago and included some additional measures to ensure everyone's safety in Indianapolis.
 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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