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20 extra officers on hand for a concert tonight is causing controversy. Many say because the rapper is black.
The Rick Ross concert was at the UTC McKenzie Arena this evening.
"I love Rick Ross and I'm excited to see what he's going to bring to Chattanooga since he's kind of hot right now," says Tanesha Irvin.
Ross brought out thousands of people tonight - like Tanesha Irvin who paid $75 for her ticket. But, she understands with more people may mean a need for more officers.
"I understand there are some people in the community that don't want to abide by the law, so I'm fine with them taking all means necessary to prove a point that it will be a secure venue," says Irvin.
"We got a lot of problems so hopefully this will do something about it," says Alex Freeman.
We weren't allowed inside the concert tonight, but there were nearly two dozen additional officers on hand and extra security enforcement outside the arena. Webster says the increased patrols are in part due to the nature of the event.
"Simply because the hip hop culture is more of a gang-related type event," says Obie webster, director of events at McKenzie arena.
Robert Robinson says he's offended the event staff added more officers just because Rick Ross was performing.
He thinks every concert or event should have the same amount of officers.
"If you're going to triple the security for a Rick Ross concert, you should do the same for any other concert -if it's country, R&B, rap, or whatever," says Robibson.
There were officers patrolling tonight from Chattanooga police, the Hamilton County sheriff's office, and UTC police.
This is the first time the McKenzie Arena has brought a hip hop rapper to perform since Little Wayne was here 7 years ago.
Saturday evening, we learned that the show actually never happened. According to Chuck Cantrell, with UTC, rapper Rick Ross felt that show promoters did not fufill their obligation. So, right before the show was to start the crowd was told that the show was cancelled. Cantrell says you can get a full refund for your ticket at the box office Tuesday morning at 9am, but only if you still have your armband.Rick Ross Concert Causes Controversy
