(AllHipHop News) When Irvington, New Jersey narcotics police officer Maurice Gattison, aka Gat The Great, created the videos for his songs “Temper Like An Alcoholic” and “2 Minutes of Gat” he felt he was just exercising his constitutional right to free speech, but Irvington city officials believe Gattison and three other officers crossed the line. Now all four face being fired for conduct unbecoming a police officer.
Calls for Gattison, Internal Affairs detective Michael Gardner, and two other unnamed cops to be stripped of the badges began back in March after “Temper Like An Alcoholic” went viral. City council member David Lyons publicly demanded the officers be fired.
“If they lose their jobs, that’s life,” said Lyons. “I think police officers need to take responsibility for their actions and they should have thought about the consequences before they took those actions.”
The videos feature Gattison repeatedly using the word “f#####” and rapping lyrics such as “take this as a lesson before you meet the Smith & Wesson” and “I’m a felon for life. Don’t make me fruit cup your melon tonight.”
“This lyrics that I used in no way did I intend for them to be perceived as homophobic,” expressed Gattison at a press conference in March. “It was basically me adapting to the rap culture and slang use. If you listen to the lyrics there’s now way you can perceive that I’m referring to someone gay.”
Gattison claims that the “felon for life” line was just a sarcastic boast.
A disciplinary proceeding for Gattison and the other officers who appeared in the video is planned to take place by the end of the month.
Deputy Police Chief Dwayne Mitchell brought the internal affairs charges against Gattison, and reportedly the two are close friends. Mitchell saw both videos last year and allowed Gattison to perform at the police department’s Christmas party.
When asked about his relationship with Mitchell, Gattison reportedly laughed and said, “It’s the nature of the beast.”
The 18 year veteran of the force is adamant that his music career does not affect his ability to perform his duties as a police officer and strongly disagrees with anyone who does.
“Anyone who thinks I should be fired is an idiot,” said Gattison.
Watch clips from “Temper Like An Alcoholic” and “2 Minutes of Gat” in the video below.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJddp1miP2I]