He said, they said. Rapper DaBaby was detained and cited by police after his concert in Charlotte on Monday night. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police claim that the rapper had marijuana in his car and that he resisted and obstructed them. The rapper insists that he was the victim of an illegal search and that he did not resist police.
“Dirty (expletive) police department try to take me to jail every time I got a show in the city,” DaBaby posted to his Instagram stories. “Unlawfully shining multiple flash lights in my car looking for reasons to support an illegal search by the time I get off stage.”
The rapper, whose legal name is Jonathan Kirk, told Charlotte’s WSOC-TV that he has video footage that shows the entire interaction with police. “Ya’ll gon’ see a video on my Instagram tomorrow,” he said.
A statement issued by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department said that officers “smelled a strong odor of marijuana” coming from Kirk’s vehicle as he entered the arena for his concert. The statement says that officers:
“attempted to initiate a voluntary contact with Kirk. Officers stated that Kirk walked away from them and he refused to speak with the officers. Officers stated they detained Kirk in handcuffs and indicated they legally searched the vehicle. Officers stated they located marijuana in the vehicle and Kirk was transported to another location for the safety and security of Kirk and the officers.”
The statement also said that while police initially sought to arrest Kirk and charge him with marijuana possession and resisting and obstructing police, they ultimately decided to issue the citation for possession, resistance and obstruction instead of arresting him.
The department has started an Internal Affairs investigation to determine if officers followed department policies.
A post from DaBaby’s Instagram stories shows police shining lights into his vehicle during the concert. Stay tuned to see if the rapper posts the video he says shows his interaction with the police after the concert.