Five Greensboro police officers involved in last year’s arrest of The Game have filed a defamation lawsuit against the rapper and his associates.
Officers Hien Nguyen, Matthew Brown, Ryan Childrey, Romaine Watkins and David Gregory said they were libeled and slandered and had their images misappropriated, according to the lawsuit filed at the Guilford County Courthouse this week.
The lawsuit stems from comments made to a TV interviewer by the rapper, whose real name is Jayceon Taylor, after his arrest at a shopping mall on Oct. 28, 2005, in which he compared his treatment to that of Rodney King and claimed he was arrested for signing autographs.
It also takes issue with the distribution of a video of the officers during the arrest. A Web site promoting the DVD claims it shows Taylor “being wrongfully arrested and brutalized by the police in North Carolina.”
The officers are each seeking more than $10,000 in damages. One officer says in the lawsuit that he lost $7,500 in off-duty pay because he was afraid of returning to work at the mall.
Taylor and others named in the lawsuit could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Mall security officers said Taylor was wearing a full-face Halloween mask and cursing loudly, and refused to leave at their request, police said. When police arrived, Taylor continued to act up and was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, officials said.
Other members of the group were sprayed with pepper spray when they surrounded the officers in a threatening manner, police said. The incident was captured on videotape by a member of the group and is available on the Internet.
Taylor released his debut album, “The Documentary,” last year.