Did race play a role in rapper Killer Mike's arrest at the 2024 Grammy Awards? That's what the Los Angeles Police Commission contemplated Tuesday.
Rasha Gerges Shields, commissioner of the department's civilian watchdog, raised the issue during a meeting Tuesday morning, following Police Chief Michel Moore's briefing on the rapper's arrest. Shields said that, from her point of view, it appeared that Killer Mike's race (he is black) played a role in officers' decision Sunday to detain him and remove him from the arena in handcuffs.
“Because, frankly, I have a hard time believing that Taylor Swift [who is white] They would have been treated the same,” he said, adding that he was concerned that police were being asked to intervene in situations that were informed by other people's biases.
Killer Mike (real name Michael Render) was arrested at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles shortly after 4 p.m. He was booked on misdemeanor assault.
The Times has learned that the Run the Jewels musician and recent Grammy winner was involved in an alleged altercation with a security guard at the venue. A source close to the investigation said the fight broke out after the guard tried to stop Killer Mike and his team from passing through an area of the facility.
In the alleged confrontation, the security guard fell to the ground and injured her hand in the fall. She requested the rapper's citizen's arrest and police were called to the scene.
On Tuesday, Moore denied that race played a role in the incident and defended the actions of the arresting officers, saying they were required under state law to honor a citizen's request for an arrest.
Video of the 48-year-old musician being escorted by at least two LAPD officers was released. viral on social networks, less than an hour before the 2024 Grammys aired live on CBS. At the pre-show ceremony, Killer Mike won three Grammy categories, including rap album for his 2023 release, “Michael.” He also took home awards for rap performance and rap songs, which he shared with André 3000, Future and Eryn Allen Kane.
“I'm a black man in America and when I was a kid I dreamed of being a part of music and that 9-year-old kid… is excited about me right now,” he said while accepting the Grammy Award for his rap performance. .
The morning after the Grammys, the Atlanta star appeared on V103's “Big Tigger Morning Show,” where he downplayed his arrest. He said he “hit an obstacle and then [got] Back to the party.”
In a Monday statement shared with the Associated Press, Killer Mike attributed Sunday's incident to “an overzealous security guard.”
“As you can imagine, there was a lot going on and there was some confusion about which door my team and I should enter,” he said. “My team and I have the utmost confidence that I will ultimately be cleared of any wrongdoing,” he continued.
He is scheduled to appear in court on February 29 in Los Angeles.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
