The rapper Afroman is dealing with a civil lawsuit from a number of Ohio law enforcement officials who say he precipitated them “emotional misery” through the use of their photos on social media and merchandise after they raided his dwelling final 12 months.
In a grievance filed March 13, seven members of the sheriff’s division in Adams County accused the rapper (actual identify Joseph Forman) of violating their rights by posting the pictures, which have been snapped by surveillance cameras whereas they executed a search warrant with weapons drawn on his dwelling final August.
The deputies (Shawn D. Cooley, Justin Cooley, Michael D. Estep, Shawn S. Grooms, Brian Newland, Lisa Phillips and Randolph L. Walters, Jr.) declare they’ve been “subjected to threats, together with demise threats” due to Afroman’s posts.
“On account of defendants’ actions, plaintiffs have been subjected to ridicule, even within the additional efficiency of their official duties, by members of the general public,” a lawyer for the officers wrote. “It has made it tougher and much more harmful for plaintiffs to hold out their official duties.”
In a response assertion posted to Instagram on Thursday (March 23), the rapper stated the officers have been “criminals caught within the act of vandalizing and stealing cash” who had “misplaced their proper of privateness.”
“My video footage is my property,” he stated. “I used it to establish criminals, who broke into my home, stole my cash and disconnected my dwelling safety system. I exploit my footage of my property to boost cash to pay for the damages they finished and to establish the criminals working within the sheriff division.”
Later in the identical assertion, an legal professional for the rapper stated she was “planning to counter sue for the illegal raid, cash being stolen, and for the plain injury this had on my shoppers household, profession and property.”
In keeping with a report by the Cincinnati Enquirer, deputies raided Afroman’s Winchester, Ohio dwelling on Aug. 21, seizing $5,031 in money and different proof whereas executing a search warrant linked to suspicions of drug trafficking. No prices have been ever filed and the cash was later returned. On the time, the rapper publicly claimed that $400 was lacking from the quantity returned, however a state investigation finally discovered that the discrepancy was attributable to a miscount, not lacking money.
After the search, Afroman repeatedly posted video and pictures of the raid on social media, utilizing them to precise outrage at alleged injury finished to his property and at what he seen as extreme use of pressure. One video confirmed officers looking his dwelling beneath the title “watch cops steal cash.” He later used a few of these photos on t-shirts and different merchandise, together with one which in contrast one of many officers to an overweight character from the animated sitcom Household Man.
Within the grievance filed final week, the officers claimed these posts and merchandise amounted to an unauthorized industrial exploitation of their likeness, in addition to an invasion of their privateness.
“A few of defendants’ postings … gave publicity to issues regarding the non-public lives of Plaintiffs which weren’t of legit concern to the general public,” the officers wrote. “On account of defendants’ unreasonable publicity of the non-public lives of plaintiffs, they’ve suffered embarrassment, ridicule, emotional misery, humiliation, and lack of popularity.”
Learn the complete grievance right here:
