Police secretly watching hip-hop celebs

[funketeer]

I have some friends in the livingroom gettin' it on and they ain't leavin' til six in the morning...I'm Rick James, bitch!

[sobeton]

one would hope that people are not being singled out, because of their ethnic background. IMO they are being singled out because of the genre of music they make, and that is simply not right. it is no secret that hip hop music has the stigma of violence attached to it. conversely, it is no secret that electronic music has the stigma of illegal drug use attached to it. if one is going to profess the need for protection. then make that protection complete and genuine, and not one tainted with inconsistencies.

[clubhard]

[mfiorellino]

I say arrest them all and throw away the key.

[str8upcore]

Can you imagine guy's like Oakie,PVD, and TIESTO being followed around by cop's invading the dj booth perhap's when TIESTO drop's the hammer...............

[tired]

cause i'm a mutha' fuckin' p.i.m.p.

[sobeton]

Posted on Fri, Mar. 12, 2004

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Group to act against rapper profiling

The Miami Beach Black Host Committee says police monitoring of rappers is offensive and could hurt relations with black residents and visitors.

BY NICOLE WHITE

Members of the Miami Beach Black Host Committee, a group created by the city's mayor to help improve its rapport with black residents and visitors, say they are deeply offended by the police department's monitoring of rappers and their associates.

A story in The Herald this week detailed how detectives from the Miami Beach and Miami police departments have been quietly keeping tabs on rap artists, including 50 Cent and Ja Rule, since 2001.

The host committee will hold a meeting today to outline their concerns and will present them to Mayor David Dermer and Police Chief Donald DeLucca early next week, said committee Chairman Henry Crespo.

Crespo said the policing tactics could damage the goodwill the committee has tried to develop between the city and blacks.

''These folks are coming here to have fun, they're spending money, buying bottles,'' Crespo said. ``Did they shoot somebody last week, have they been selling drugs, have they been involved in prostitution, have they killed anybody? If not, then what warrants this violation of a person's privacy?''

DeLucca and police spokesman Robert Hernandez did not return calls for comment on Thursday.

POLICE CONCERNS

In previous interviews with The Herald, Assistant Police Chief Charles Press said the department would be remiss if it did not monitor rivalries within the industry.

''What would law enforcement be if we closed our eyes? Our job is to know as much about things that could hurt innocent people,'' Press said.

Crespo said he is also deeply concerned that the department has only one black police officer in a supervisory role even though the city attracts thousands of black visitors each year.

EFFECTS OF REPORT

The Herald's report sparked a media firestorm and forced the New York Police Department, which had long denied any monitoring of hip-hop stars, to admit that it had met with South Florida police to discuss rap violence.

The policing practices have also been decried by rap industry leaders and civil libertarians. Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons' Hip-Hop Summit Action Network said it would file suit against both police departments.

''It appears to us there are certain federal violations that have been committed as a result of evidence reported by The Miami Herald as to the existence of rap profiling,'' Ben Chavis, CEO and president of the HSAN, told The Herald this week.

Lida Rodriguez-Taseff, outgoing president of the Miami-Dade chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said her organization would also be willing to file suit.

Said ACLU Executive Director Howard Simon: ``Just because some people in the rap industry have engaged in criminal behavior, that does not justify interrogating and profiling everyone in the industry. We wouldn't tolerate that with white musicians.''

[macboy]

I'm a little late to this thread, but here's my 2 cents:

Whatever reason the police use to justify it, I think it's a good thing if only to protect the general clubgoing public. After two recently publicized confrontations between P-Diddy's security and clubgoers, and who knows how many unpublicized ones, people need to be protected from these scumbags. P-Diddy's security, on at least two occasions in the last two months, in SoBe, "confiscated" cameras from clubgoers because P-Diddy thought pictures were being taken of him. Get over yourself Diddy. An Ocean Drive staffer I had dinner with last year was accosted by Jay-Z's thug because she took a pic of someone at a table next to his. Get over yourself Jay-Z.

FYI, when anyone takes something from your person by force or threat of force, that is the legal definition of robbery. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. If security at the location fails to assist you upon your reporting it, there can be a claim of liability against the venue. That's why it's in their interest to kick YOU out of there asap so you can't ID the perps associated with the celeb. Reason? They will always care more about the celeb than you. Now with these police surveillance pics, you can ID the perp, have him arrested, and file a claim against the venue if they refused to help you.

Of course, if all venues had a "no camera" policy like Space, this wouldn't matter.

[sobeton]

Fourth Amendment Rights & The Bill of Rights equal protection under the law