Arrest of Jim Morrison of The Doors: On December 9, 1967 I was on extra duty at the old New Haven Arena. There were approximately 30-35 Officers on duty for the concert. All Officers had to report at 7:00 PM, two hours before the concert to check all offices, rest rooms, dressing rooms, hallways etc. for any unauthorized non paying persons. The old Arena building had wooden doors and windows and they were easily forced open to allow people to sneak in. Thats why it was important for us the check the building before each event. Jim Morrison and a female were hiding in a shower stall. An Officer checking those areas, discovered them and told them to leave. The young lady ran out of the building but Mr. Morrison decided to give the Officer a hard time. Telling the Officer to mind his own business. There was reported shoving and Morrison got maced and arrested. As he was being escorted out of the building, his Manager intervened and agreed to have Mr. Morrison surrender after the concert. Lieutenant James Kelly was in charge and gave his approval with a warning to Mr. Morrison to cool off and act properly. I was stationed on the floor in front of the center of the stage. The concert went on as planned. Toward the end, Mr. Morrison started to tell the story about his dealings with the New Haven Police. The audience started to stamp their feet on the old wooded floor. The crowd was getting agitated and worked up. Lt. Kelly jumped up on stage and warned Mr. Morrison to knock it off. 10 minutes later, Morrison was again agitating the crowd and Lt. Kelly went behind the stage and ordered the stage hands to turn on the overhead lights. He also ordered Morrisons mike cut off. At that point Lt. Kelly told Morrison that the concert was over and he was under arrest. Officer Kevin Leary jumped on stage and assisted Lt. Kelly in escorting Morrison to the rear of the stage. I then jumped up on stage and took Lt. Kellys place. Morrison was escorted to a waiting paddy wagon in the parking garage. He was taken to Headquarters at 165 Court Street and booked on several charges. By the time he was fingerprinted and processed, it was after midnight so his booking picture was dated December 10, 1967. There is a short utube video. Looking at the video, Lt Kelly is to the right. Officer Leary is in front of Morrison and as they were turned around, I appear on the left side of the stage.
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 03:46:36 +0000
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