What can a Black artist do when wronged by the law? Make art, of course! In addition to his using home surveillance video (and video shot by his wife during the raid) in this song, Afroman also posted some images to the socials.
One example was Afroman wearing a shirt with an image of [officer] Shawn Cooley beside a picture of Peter Griffin from Family Guy. Another shows [officer] Shawn Grooms next to a picture of the Hunchback of Notre-Dame. Another is of Afroman fans holding up merchandise that has images of Cooley. More include images of other officers.
So of course the cops are suing.
The complaint claims that the police officers have been “subjected to ridicule” by members of the public who have seen some of Afroman’s posts. The episode has allegedly “made it more difficult and even more dangerous” for them to carry out their official duties, the complaint adds. Some of that activity has included anonymous death threats, it says.
“As a result of Defendants’ actions, Plaintiffs have suffered damages, including all profits derived from and attributable to Defendants’ unauthorized use of Plaintiffs’ personas, and have suffered humiliation, ridicule, mental distress, embarrassment, and loss of reputation,” it reads.
Explains Afroman …
“I’m a civilian. Then, to make matters worse, I’m a Black civilian in America,” he said. “The police department was not designed to serve and protect me. I felt powerless yet angry. These guys can destroy my property and I literally couldn’t do nothing about it. The only thing I could do was take to my pen and sing about the injustice. And to my surprise, it’s going over well!”
Source here.
