Travis Scott’s Ties to Houston Could Complicate Investigation of Fatal Concert

Houston police officers had been providing security, both on the clock and moonlighting as employees of the event organizers, according to city officials.

On Tuesday, Mayor Sylvester Turner met with top officials from both agencies, and his office released a collection of permits the city had issued for the festival.

According to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions about an independent investigation who requested anonymity to share details of a private conversation, the ability of the county to do anything has been limited by the criminal investigation announced by the city’s police chief, Troy Finner, in the immediate aftermath of the concert.

“Judge Hidalgo is very eager to figure out what, if anything, could have prevented this tragedy from taking place by taking a thorough look at every aspect of what happened,” said Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesman for Ms. Hidalgo.

Chief Finner said on Saturday that there had been a discussion between police and fire officials, promoters and representatives of the venue, NRG Park, about the best way to end the concert early.

has offered to assist, but the Houston Police Department has not requested its help, a bureau spokeswoman said.

Assigning criminal culpability can be difficult at a large-scale event where witnesses described a surging crowd that crushed and trampled people who had lost consciousness and fallen to the floor.

Mr. Buzbee also questioned whether the Police Department could be counted on to conduct the investigation impartially given its officers’ role in the event.

“When I heard that Travis Scott was doing these kind of events, that memory came back,” said Dwight Boykins, a former city councilman who knows Mr. Scott’s father.

The next year, Mr. Turner appeared onstage at Astroworld with Mr. Scott and presented him with a key to the city.

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