So, cops raided rapper Afroman's (Joseph Foreman) home with guns srawn, terrorized his wife and kids, broke his front door, vandalized his home security system so he would have no record of their search, possibly stole $400 in cash, and ATE THE LEMON POUND CAKE IN HIS KITCHEN, found nothing. (As Anna Russel would say, "I'm not making this up, you know.")
No charges were ever filed
In response, Afroman used the footage from his home security system and his wife, and made a number of rap videos featuring the footage, so the delicate snowflakes at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office are suing, claiming that they have suffered mockery and emotional distress when the videos when viral.
F$#@ them with Cheney's Dick.
You raided his house, broke in his door, vandalized his home security system, and ate his cake, but their poor delicate feelings are hurt:
Seven Ohio cops who raided a rapper known as Afroman’s house last summer are now suing the rapper after Afroman made music videos using footage from the raid. The Adams County Sheriff’s Office police officers allege that the rapper is profiting off unauthorized use of their likenesses, not only in the music videos but also on merchandise created after Afroman’s social media posts and music videos went viral on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
Cops suing say they’ve been subjected to death threats, ridicule, reputation loss, embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress, and other alleged harms and will continue to suffer unless the court forces Afroman to destroy all the merchandise and posts bearing their likenesses.
They are suffering from very well deserved, "Ridicule, reputation loss, embarrassment, humiliation, emotional distress, and other alleged harms".
Ars couldn’t immediately reach Afroman, whose real name is Joseph Foreman, for comment, but Vice talked to him in January. Afroman told Vice that after the raid, he suffered, too, losing gigs and feeling powerless. He decided to create music videos for songs called “Lemon Pound Cake,” “Why You Disconnecting My Video Camera,” and “Will You Help Me Repair My Door” to reclaim his good name.
The cops’ warrant shows that officers conducted the raid to seek evidence of “drug possession and trafficking, as well as kidnapping,” The Guardian reported, but no evidence was found, and no charges were issued against Afroman.
Afroman was not present during the raid, and his music videos relied on security camera footage and videos shot by his wife on her phone. The rapper claims that police destroyed his property and seized $400. “I felt powerless yet angry," he told Vice. "These guys can destroy my property and I literally couldn’t do nothing about it.”
He said that releasing the music videos was his only way to process these feelings and that he was shocked when the videos went viral. “The only thing I could do was take to my pen and sing about the injustice,” Afroman told Vice. “And to my surprise, it’s going over well!”
. ………
Now, it seems that officers have reached their breaking point after months of alleged public ridicule, with each demanding at least $25,000 in damages on five separate counts in their complaint against Afroman. Ohio law bans the use of an individual’s persona—such as Afroman's use of officers' faces in videos and on T-shirts—for commercial purposes without authorization.
“Personas of the plaintiffs were not used by defendants in connection with any news, public affairs, sports broadcast, or political campaign, and their unauthorized use of plaintiffs' personas for commercial purposes was not justified or excused,” their complaint said. It also alleged that Afroman violated officers’ right to privacy and made false statements.
According to the complaint, Afroman appeared in an interview on VLADTV, where he “admits to using images and clips from the search in videos and promotion.” Clips include officers asking for a piece of lemon pound cake and dismantling a security camera to prevent more footage. They’re asking a jury to award damages and require Afroman to stop using their likenesses in his videos and promotional materials. They also want him to delete “dozens of videos and images” posted on “various social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.”
Among these social media posts that cops said would offend a reasonable person is an Instagram post showing one officer, Shawn Cooley, who is seen in the raid footage asking for a piece of pound cake. The post shows Afroman wearing a shirt with Shawn Cooley’s face next to Family Guy’s Peter Griffin with a caption that says, "Good Morning Ladies!!! What up Fellas??? Congratulations to Police Officer Poundcake. Thank you for getting me 5.4 MILLION hits on TikTok. I couldn't have done it without you obviously! Congratulations again; you're famous for all the wrong reasons.”
Afroman told Vice that he considered the raid harassment and that his music videos were meant to raise awareness of an alleged pattern of abuse, saying that “sheriff's officers in this county have been doing people dirty for a very long time and getting away with it.”
First, there is no expectation of privacy when police engage in an official action, particularly when they are engaging in a swatting a house.
Also, this is newsworthy, and his rap videos are arguably news reporting, and so his use is probably protected under the first amendment. Also, filming police in the execution of their duties is specifically protected under the first amendment as well, as has been decided multiple times across multiple courts.
The law that they are suing under has specific exemptions for news, and breaking down the door of a man whose songs had charted in the US and around the world is pretty explicitly newsworthy.
Also, it appears that the statute that they are suing under has an exemption for literary and musical work.
The above legal opion, along with the conclusion that their argument would have the effect of banning the use of home security cameras in Ohio, are not a product of my lack of legal expertise. This came from lawyer Steve Lehto who did a YouTube about this.
Here is hoping for a summary judgement and sanctions against the cops and their lawyers.
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