Do you have a reasonable expectation of privacy when you break into a famous rapper's house with an AR-15 and take his money? A group of Ohio sheriff's deputies thinks so, according to Reason.
Seven Adams County Sheriff's deputies have filed
a lawsuit against
Afroman for using footage of them raiding his house in several music videos,
FOX19 reports.
The deputies argue Afroman used their personas for commercial purposes without
permission, causing them to suffer "embarrassment, ridicule, emotional
distress, humiliation, and loss of reputation."
The Adams County deputies executed a search warrant
on Afroman's house last August. According to a search warrant,
Afroman was suspected of drug possession, drug trafficking, and kidnapping. The
bust came up empty, and Afroman was never charged with a crime. Deputies did,
however, seize more than $5,000 in cash, which they were ultimately forced to
return. (The returned amount was $400 short, which an investigation later determined was
due to a counting error by deputies.)
Afroman then used surveillance footage of the raid
and cellphone video taken by his wife in two music videos, "Lemon Pound Cake"
and "Will You Help
Me Repair My Door." He also sold merchandise with images of the
deputies and used the footage to promote his products and tours.
The complaint claims Afroman used their likenesses
in dozens of social media posts, "subjecting them to undue ridicule."
"In some instances, it has made it more
difficult and even more dangerous for Plaintiffs to carry out their official
duties because of comments made and attitude expressed toward them by members
of the public," the lawsuit says.
Of course, if they had spent their time solving real
crimes instead of trundling around Afroman's house playing drug warrior, they
would have remained happily anonymous.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to take down the
posts and videos, as well as more than $25,000 in damages.
In an Instagram
post following the filing of the suit, Afroman shared a statement from
his attorney Anna Castellini: "We are waiting for public records requests
from Adam's county we still have not received. We are planning to counter sue
for the unlawful raid, money being stolen, and for the undeniable damage this
had on my clients family, career and property."
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