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Looks like the rappers who had their civil rights
violated by Tempe Sgt. Chuck Schoville and Officer Brandon Banks
on Tempe's cop propaganda TV show "Street Beat"
want some money for the civil rights violation.
http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/0131tr-rappers0131Z10.html
Men told to rap by cop seek cash The two men filmed in a controversial segment of a Tempe TV show are now both demanding money from the city. Robert Tarvin filed a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, with the city Monday. It asks Tempe to pay Tarvin $50,000 for subjecting to him to rapping about littering last fall at a police sergeant's request. The other man involved in the incident, Louis Baker, filed a claim this month. Baker asked for a half-million-dollar settlement. Tempe aired the Street Beat episode in November. The show looped on Tempe's local cable access Channel 11 for nearly a month, showing more than 20 times. A 78-second segment near the end of the show showed a Tempe police sergeant pulling over a vehicle containing Baker and Tarvin after Baker threw a fast-food bag out the car window. Baker also was driving with a suspended license. Sgt. Chuck Schoville was filmed telling the men they could get out of a littering ticket if they rapped, which they then did. Tarvin's attorney, Christopher Berry, claims Tarvin and Baker were racially profiled as gang members because they are Black. Berry also wrote that Schoville abused his authority by using "the threat of sanctions, and the always present possibility of arrest or force, to make two citizens essentially sing and dance for the cameras." Tarvin's claim states that he would allow the city to allocate some of the $50,000 to fund community awareness training for members of the Tempe Police Department. He also asks for a letter of apology from the department, signed by Schoville and the officer who filmed the segment, Brandon Banks. After the show aired, Schoville later apologized and said it wasn't his intention to offend anyone. Schoville said before he asked the men to rap, he had talked to them off-camera about how they were music producers and aspiring rappers. Tempe City Attorney Andrew Ching declined to comment on how the city would respond to the complaint, his routine policy regarding outstanding legal situations.
A version of this story ran online Monday at tempe.azcentral.com. http://www.azcentral.com/community/tempe/articles/0129tr-rappers0129-ON.html
Man asked to rap for police files claim against Tempe The two men filmed in a controversial segment of a Tempe TV show are now both demanding money from the city. Robert Tarvin filed a notice of claim - a precursor to a lawsuit - with the city Monday. It asks Tempe to pay Tarvin $50,000 for subjecting him to rapping about littering last fall at a police sergeant's request. The other man involved in the incident, Louis Baker, filed a claim earlier this month. Baker asked for a half-million dollar settlement. Tempe aired the now-controversial Street Beat episode in November. The show looped on Tempe's local access Channel 11 for nearly a month, showing more than 20 times. A 78-second segment near the end of the show depicted a Tempe police sergeant pulling over a vehicle containing Baker and Tarvin after Baker threw a fast-food bag out the car window in the Arizona Mills mall parking lot. Baker was also driving with a suspended license. Sgt. Chuck Schoville was filmed telling the men they could get out of a littering ticket if they rapped, which they then did. The Maricopa County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Arizona chapter of the National Action Network condemned the show. Members of the civic rights groups said it appeared the men were intimidated and the exchange propagated negative stereotypes based on the color of their skin. Tarvin's attorney, Christopher Berry, piggybacks on that sentiment when he makes a case for a settlement. He wrote in the claim that Tarvin and Baker were racially profiled as gang members because they are Black. He also wrote that Schoville abused his authority by using " . . . the threat of sanctions, and the always present possibility of arrest or force, to make two citizens essentially sing and dance for the cameras." Tarvin's claim states that he would allow the city to allocate some of the $50,000 to fund community awareness training for members of the Tempe Police Department. He also asks for a letter of apology from the department, signed by Schoville and the officer who filmed the segment, Brandon Banks. "His (Tarvin's) hope is that this will signify an acknowledgement that the City and its officers were wrong in how they instigated and handled this matter, and that all parties can learn from it and move on," Berry wrote. After the show aired, Schoville later apologized and said it wasn't his intention to offend anyone. Schoville also said he talked to the men off-camera about how they were music producers and aspiring rappers, which led to the rap request. Tempe City Attorney Andrew Ching declined to comment on how the city would respond to the complaint, his routine policy regarding outstanding legal situations. |