Why a 15-second rap video set Los Angeles police on edge
A video of someone brandishing a loaded gun near an LAPD officer has been discovered to belong to an old hip-hop group. But many in law enforcement are remaining on high alert.
A video of someone wielding a loaded gun behind a Los Angeles police officer went viral on social media this week has since been discovered to have been filmed for entertainment and publicity, the LAPD announced Tuesday.
A high-level investigation of the 15-second Instagram video revealed that the apparent stalking footage was nothing more than an old hip-hop group looking for a comeback.
A police statement said that “the film was made by members of an early 1990s rap group no longer in fashion.”
At least one person from the unnamed group has been arrested from the video, which shows someone brandishing a revolver behind a squad car parked in downtown Los Angeles before a uniformed officer inside gets out and walks away.
Police say they already had a warrant for the man who was arrested, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Police Chief Charlie Beck said at a police commission meeting that another suspect had been arrested on a previous property crime warrant, though he had still not been turned into custody.
“The individual knows that he's wanted,” Chief Beck said, according to the AP. "The individual knows who he is and that he should turn himself in.”
Even after the investigation, however, many in the law enforcement community “remain rattled,” reports CBS2 News.
“Officers feel very, very vulnerable out there right now. They feel that at any moment somebody could attack them,” Gary Fullerton, an attorney representing two officers in a separate case told the Times.
“It’s completely frightening, and I know that a lot of the wives are scared,” a member of the LAPD Wives Association told CBS. “They are so scared that their husbands are not going to come home.”
This report contains material from The Associated Press.