The police officer who allegedly made two African-American men perform a rap in order to avoid a littering ticket has come forward, in an attempt to explain the unusual incident.
Sgt. Chuck Schoville is a 25-year-veteran in law enforcement who also serves as host of a monthly local cable show, Tempe Street Beat, which has aired for over five years in Tempe, AZ.
The officer stopped the two men last August in a local shopping center, after he witnessed one of the men throw garbage out of his window.
The video shows Sgt. Schoville asking the men if they know the penalties for littering and offers the pair a chance to avoid a fine by rapping about littering.
Sgt. Schoville explained that the men claimed they were from Chicago and worked in the music industry.
The passenger had already agreed to pick up the litter and ran about 75 yards to retrieve the garbage to avoid the fine.
“They had told me they were rappers early on in the conversation,” Sgt. Schoville told the New York Daily News. “This thing was resolved as soon as that guy took off running for his litter.”
Sgt. Schoville said the men agreed to do the rap, after he explained that police were attempting to be friendly with the local community.
“At that point they did the rap. It was like a skit,” Sgt. Schoville said.
According to reports, the Tempe Police Department has pulled the plug on the show, pending an internal investigation.
