by Thursday night (Feb 21), rapper MC Hammer was arrested at the Hacienda Crossings shopping center on suspicion of resisting an officer and obstructing an officer in the performance of his duties, according to Dublin, California police spokesman Herb Walters. Officers say Hammer was is in a vehicle that had expired registration in which he was not the registered owner. “After asking Hammer who the registered owner was he became very argumentative and refused to answer the officer’s questions,” Walters states in an email to CNN.
After being booked and released on bail from Santa Rita Jail, Hammer, 50, says the incident was dripping with racial profiling. The late 80s-early 90s rap star took to Twitter yesterday (Feb 23) in a series of tweets with his side of the story.
"chubby elvis looking dude was tapping on my car window, I rolled down the window and he said' "Are you on parole or probation? While I was handing him my ID he reached in my car and tried to pull me out the car but forgot he was on a steady donut diet. .. It was comical to me until he pulled out his guns, blew his whistle and yelled for help (MallCop) !!! But make no mistake he's dangerous .. only thing more dangerous than a scared man with a gun, is a scared man with an agenda, a gun and a badge. I was citied for obstruction smh … You have to know me to understand I was laughing when he was grunting and pulling on me .. I had just left the weight room … I will now answer his question, contrary to his personal beliefs, all people of color are not on parole or probation fat boy !!! Instead of being bitter, I'm taking the opportunity to make this a "teachable moment" and "eye opener" for my many friends & colleagues."
He also acknowledges an occurrence at the police station that has him skeptical. The police staff administered a “skin test” with injections, and Hammer compared it to the sinister Tuskegee Syphilis experiment which is synonymous with racist and unethical medical experimentations.
“My biggest concern ? What was it that they injected into my arm under the guise of a "Skin Test"? #SantaRita #Tuskegee," he tweeted.
Ironically, Hammer was also upset because he was scheduled to speak to inmates at San Quentin prison Friday morning in “The Last Mile” program, a program the “helps bridge the gap between incarceration and freedom.”
