Crime & Courts
Internal police investigation launched into Charlotte arrest of rapper DaBaby
CHARLOTTE
Details have been released in a Monday night police incident involving the Charlotte rapper known as DaBaby — whose legal name is Jonathan Kirk — and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police confirmed an Internal Affairs investigation is underway.
“The CMPD has launched an Internal Affairs investigation to determine if Officers followed department policies and directives during the incident,” said a CMPD press release.
Kirk was detained in handcuffs and went before a magistrate where he was given citations for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and resisting, obstructing or delaying an arrest, according to the release.
News of the incident has gotten national attention, due in part to DaBaby’s rising star in the rap music world and two recently announced Grammy nominations. He was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on Dec. 7.
Unlawful search claim
Kirk told Charlotte TV station WCNC that CMPD “unlawfully searched my car, arrested me.”
Investigators say the incident happened late Monday at Bojangles’ Coliseum on East Independence Boulevard, where DaBaby was scheduled to perform a show, police said in the release.
Kirk arrived in a white Dodge Charger at about 8:50 p.m., and it was then that officers doing security reported smelling “a strong odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle,” the release said.
“Officers approached the white Dodge Charger and indicated they observed marijuana in plain view,” the release said.
However, police waited until after the concert to question Kirk about the alleged drugs, officials said in the release.
“Shortly before 11 p.m., Kirk exited the Bojangles Arena and the officers stated they attempted to initiate a voluntary contact with Kirk,” the release said.
“Officers stated that Kirk walked away from them and he refused to speak with the officers. Officers stated they detained Kirk in handcuffs and indicated they legally searched the vehicle.”
DaBaby denies charge
Kirk responded to the incident with a Tweet Tuesday afternoon that referenced a fatal shooting of a Charlotte man that occurred on Elliott Drive not long after he was detained.
“Someone died last night while the police department (was) wasting resources and officers to harass me in attempt to make a bad example out of me,” Kirk tweeted. “When in reality, I’m the most positive example the city of Charlotte got. Especially for anybody in the streets of Charlotte and the KIDS.”
He also revealed that his team had “high resolution video and audio” of the incident, and promised to release it as proof of his innocence in resisting officers.
“Black Excellence right here in our own city, and they hate it,” he tweeted.
“Ya’ll will see how dirty the CMPD police department did me during the holidays in front of my daughter, while I was putting a show on for my city,” he told WSOC.
Marijuana was found in the vehicle and Kirk was then “transported to another location for the safety and security of Kirk and the officers,” a release said.
“After transporting Kirk to the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Department, officers decided that in lieu of arresting him, they would issue two North Carolina Uniform Citations for misdemeanor possession of marijuana and resist, obstruct and delay,” the release said.
“Officers stated that they offered to drive Kirk anywhere he wanted to go; however, he did not want a ride and walked out of the jail with his two citations.”
Kirk’s concert at the arena came immediately after he visited a group of local families and provided free Christmas gifts to 200 children who live in the Charlotte area, reported The Charlotte Observer’s news partner WBTV.
It’s the second time in 13 months the rapper has been in police custody.
In November 2018, he was arrested on a concealed weapons charge in connection with the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Jalyn Domonique Craig of Charlotte. The incident happened at the Walmart on Bryton Town Center Drive in Huntersville on Nov. 5, police said.
The rapper defended himself in an obscenity-laced video on YouTube two days after the shooting, explaining that he was shopping with his two children when someone pulled a gun “and tried to take my life,” the Observer previously reported.
Kirk was found guilty of a weapons charge in June in connection with the fatal shooting, The Charlotte Observer reported June 28.