NC police officers suing rapper The Game for defamation

Rapper The Game is being sued with a defamation lawsuit filed against him for more than $10,000 in damages.

Rapper The Game is being sued with a defamation lawsuit filed against him for more than $10,000 in damages. The suit was filed by five police officers involved in his arrest for resisting and disorderly conduct in a North Carolina shopping mall on Oct. 28, 2005.

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.

Reports state that 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.

The police admit that, during the fight, Officer Watkins used pepper spray to fend off some of The Game’s entourage when they “surrounded him in a threatening manner.” According to the reports, Watkins was investigated and cleared of any wrongdoing related to the case.

The officers were also upset by the release of a video of the arrest, which was shot by one of The Game’s friends. They claim a website airing the recording states that it shows The Game “being wrongfully arrested and brutalized by the police in North Carolina.” Parts of the video are also available on YouTube.com, a defendant in the suit, and the complete recording can be seen on the dvd, “Stop Snitching/Stop Lying.”

The officers are requesting more than $10,000 each in damages and one of them claims he lost $7,500 in off-duty pay, since he was afraid to enter the mall again.

The Game’s latest album, “Doctor’s Advocate,” is to be released on November 14th.