WINCHESTER, Ohio — Seven legislation enforcement officers have sued rap artist Afroman, accusing him of improperly utilizing footage from a police raid on his Ohio house final yr in his music movies.
4 deputies, two sergeants and a detective with the Adams County Sheriff’s Workplace introduced the go well with earlier this month, claiming invasion of privateness. Different legislation enforcement officers who had been concerned within the raid are usually not named as plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs say the rapper, whose actual identify is Joseph Foreman, took footage of their faces obtained in the course of the August 2022 raid and used it in music movies and social media posts with out their consent. They are saying that has precipitated them “emotional misery, embarrassment, ridicule, lack of fame and humiliation.”
The plaintiffs are in search of all of Foreman’s earnings from his use of their personas. That features proceeds from the songs, music movies and stay occasion tickets, in addition to the promotion of Foreman’s Afroman model, below which he sells beer, marijuana, T-shirts and different merchandise. Additionally they search a court docket injunction to take down all movies and posts containing their personas.
The go well with names Foreman, his recording agency and a Texas-based media distribution firm as defendants. In an Instagram publish made Wednesday, Foreman vowed to countersue “for the plain injury this had on my purchasers, household, profession and property.”
Regulation enforcement officers had been performing on a warrant that said possible trigger existed that medicine and drug paraphernalia can be discovered on Foreman’s property and that trafficking and kidnapping had taken place there, authorities have mentioned. These suspicions turned out to be unfounded, although, and the raid failed to show up probative felony proof. No costs had been ever filed.
When money seized in the course of the raid was returned to Foreman, it appeared that a whole lot of dollars had been lacking. A subsequent evaluate by the state Bureau of Legal Investigation decided that deputies had miscounted the quantity seized in the course of the raid itself.
Foreman is finest recognized for his songs “As a result of I Acquired Excessive” and “Loopy Rap,” which had been each featured on his album “The Good Occasions.” He's additionally recognized for his political activism and introduced final December that he plans to run for president.