What happened at Diddy's 1991 charity game that left nine people dead? What we know

On December 28, 1991, Diddy and Dwight Arrington Myers, a.k.a. Heavy D, organized what is infamously remembered as Diddy's 1991 charity game at City College in New York. The night took a fateful turn when more than 5000 people tried to fit inside the gymnasium that would usually fit 2,730 people.

It started around 6:00 p.m. when people outside broke a glass door that was separating them from the lobby. The lobby had a short flight of stairs leading to the gymnasium with four swinging doors. However, three of them were closed, and it opened into the stairwell, instead of the gymnasium.

There were 66 NYC Police officers, 38 City College campus security officers, and 20 private security guards, but the event left nine people dead and 29 injured.

After Diddy's verdict was announced, two individuals who were directly connected to Diddy's 1991 charity game spoke to CNN. Jason Swain, brother of Dirk Swain, one of the victims who passed away, was reminded of the Polaroid of his dead brother, staring at him with eyes wide open in the gymnasium stairwell. The other is Charrisse Miles, a survivor of the stampede, who was 21 years old at the time it happened.

Keep reading to learn more from the victims at Diddy's 1991 charity game event.

Victim and family speak out about Diddy's 1991 charity game

During a recent interview with CNN, Jason Swain, the brother of Dirk Swain, who passed away during the stampede at Diddy's 1991 charity game, said:

"My mother was there with some of the other mothers. They all were looking at Polaroid pictures of their dead kids... And my dad was angry with the police because they wouldn’t let us see Dirk. But, you know, it was a crime scene."

Dwight's family and other families who were affected by the incident have filed for civil damages in drawn-out wrongful death suits over the years. According to the New York State Attorney General’s office, Combs paid about $750,000 of a total of $3.8 million in 1998 to settle the claims of the victims' families.

Swain added:

"I don't know how to express it any other way. I'm spiritual, like my mother, and for anything that was done wrong over the years, he's gonna get his... I believe in karma."

Additionally, Charrisee Miles, who was following Diddy's trial, said that she could not "stomach" the verdict. As one of the survivors of Diddy's 1991 charity game stampede, she added:

"When you think about the City College incident, that was traumatizing for a lot of us back then. But when we think about the people he’s traumatized since then, it’s astronomical."

She recalled the incident and elaborated:

"I probably was (in the gym) not even 10 minutes before the stampede actually started... I was in the crowd when the first victim was raised above us and carried out."

She also mentioned seeing Combs and his associates running outside and "never looking back". She continued:

"I know it was so many years ago, but it was one of those incidences where you kind of don't forget... He just kind of ran past, like, 'We have to get out of here.' I feel like from City College up until today, if this was a person of remorse, we should have seen it by now... I just feel like he’s trying to get to a position where he can continue."

Miles also added that she thinks Combs does not feel any shame for his past behavior. She concluded:

"I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist but it just screams narcissistic behavior... He seems to be saying, 'I'm OK. I’m good. I’ll be free again.' There’s nothing about, 'I'll do better,' or the victims or the harm he’s brought to people. It just appears to be all about him."

No criminal charges were filed regarding Diddy's 1991 charity game event. This is just one of the few incidents in a string of more horrifying allegations that have resurfaced against the former music mogul. Swain and Miles were not happy with Combs' conviction last week in court.

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