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Distrust in police amid allegations of LAPD investigation of Nipsey Hussle

By The Final Call | Last updated: Jul 23, 2019 - 10:08:27 AM

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A mural at Ground Zero where Nipsey’ Hussle’s Marathon Clothing store is located and where the 33-yer-old rapper was gunned down earlier this year. Photos: Haroon Rajaee

LOS ANGELES—Reports that the City of Los Angeles and Los Angeles Police Department were investigating Ermias Asghedom, the rapper known as Nipsey Hussle, at the time of his violent death and as he was working to build up his community angered some but was no surprise to others.

Shortly after his death, the 33-year-old hip hop artist and businessman was praised by local politicians and law enforcement for working for peace in the streets, but some people are questioning: were the accolades only lip-service?

A New York Times article published July 15 alleged Nipsey, his property and business associates was the focus of a police investigation to determine whether the strip mall on Crenshaw and Slauson that houses his Marathon clothing store in South Central was a focal point for gang activity.

On April 2, Mayor Eric Garcetti, LAPD Chief Michael Moore, and LAPD Commission President Steve Soboroff hailed Nipsey as a tireless advocate for change and positivity in his community.  Nipsey was not only building businesses and creating jobs, but he was transforming the image of his neighborhood and creating affordable housing.

Allegations police were investigating him again for raised questions of trust between Black communities and the LAPD, activists told The Final Call.

“This investigation is not new information. My office has been notified that there was an abatement probe and we’re trying to understand all of the factors at play with the city attorney and LAPD,” said Los Angeles City Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson, who was working with Nipsey on a project called Destination Crenshaw. 

The 1.3 miles of art and culture celebrating L.A.’s Black community will use Crenshaw Blvd. as an anchor for public art and streetscape design of local and world-renowned artists, according to coordinators.

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People from around the country flocked to Ground Zero to pay honor and tribute to Ermias “Nipsey Hussle” Ashghedom. Photo: Haroon Rajaee

“Nipsey’s legacy of perseverance, reinvention and community investment will forever inspire South LA. It is our responsibility to do everything we can to support his community ventures and remain authentic to his story,” Councilmember Harris-Dawson told The Final Call in an emailed statement.

The LAPD is trying to do just that, said a spokesperson. “The LAPD is investigating crimes, but not Nipsey Hussle, his family, or their business, but is investigating crimes that have occurred at the property situated at Crenshaw and Slauson, where the famed Marathon Clothing Store sits,” said Josh Rubenstein, communications director for the LAPD. 

“We are working with the property owners to deal with crime issues at that location. There isn’t a specific investigation going on,” he said.

A gang member, Eric Ronald Holder, Jr., aka “Shitty Cuz,” age 29 who belonged to the same Rollin’ 60s Crips gang as Nipsey is facing one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder for gunning down the rapper and shooting two of his companions in front of his popular Marathon Clothing store on March 31.

In the 3420 W. Slauson plaza’s parking lot, there’s been incidents of gang activity and gang violence, according to LAPD’s South Bureau Commander Al Labrado.  He told The Final Call that the city attorney had been working diligently with the previous owner of the property prior to Nipsey and his partner David Gross acquiring the property about six months ago. 

The city’s demands for the property carried over to the new owners. The city has been trying to get them to implement conditions, which included cameras, lighting, fencing, and a limited parking area, said Commander Labrado.

“People are congregating and being victimized.  So, the nexus of the review by the city attorney and us was to address the concerns in that parking lot,” he stated.

“No,” Commander Labrado said flat out, the LAPD was not investigating Nipsey Hussle at the time he was killed.  “We’ve had an ongoing review and the city attorney’s also looking into the activity that was occurring in that parking lot, both pre- and post-Nipsey Hussle,” he reiterated.

“That activity continued, and they made efforts to reach out to them as well, and then obviously we had the incident that happened that ended the life of Mr. Hussle, and then since then, we still had incidents,” he continued.

Incidents have included another murder after Nipsey’s, and robberies, numerous arrests of individuals armed with weapons, tourists assaulted and robbed, according to Commander Labrada. 

As for trust of residents, Commander Labrado claimed the LAPD has large support in the area.  “Community members are calling consistently to complain about the issues in that community.  Not only just that shopping center or other areas in that area, but they’re constantly calling us and they want a safe neighborhood. They want to be able to go the store and be safe.  They want to be able to go to the gas station there at the corner and be able to get gas in peace.  And if they want to go see the memorial for Nipsey Hussle, they want to be able to do so without being harassed, and I think we owe it to that community to do that,” he stated.

But not everyone agrees the motives of the police are genuine.

“LAPD and the city are clearly trying to have it both ways: pretending as if they value and respect Nipsey’s work and vision now that he’s been assassinated, while assailing and criminalizing him behind closed doors ... just as they have done each of our martyrs ... Dr. King, Minister Malcolm ... And just like the martyrs before him, we must question the role of government and police in Nipsey’s death,” said Dr. Melina Abdullah, chair of the Pan African Studies Department at California State University L.A., and member of Black Lives Matter L.A.

“There is nothing that White supremacy fears more than our neighborhoods rising up. That is what they feared about Nipsey, that he resonates with our community and that his brilliance and vision would spark something that they couldn’t contain,” she told The Final Call.

“Police lie. Politicians lie. To believe them we’d be denying history and closing our eyes to the truth we experience every day,” Dr. Abdullah concluded.

Nipsey, his brother Samiel Asghedom, aka Blacc Sam, and several Marathon Store workers alleged in multiple interviews posted online how police raided their store and the city constantly harassed the previous owner to evict them or they’d take the property.  Instead, the prior owner sold it to the brothers and Mr. Gross. They held the Marathon Store flagship store grand opening on June 17, 2017.

“We already knew that the LAPD had raided his shop several times, according to the mother. This is why the mother was so upset and uncomfortable with the LAPD,” stated Student Minister Abdul Malik Sayyid Muhammad, Western Regional Representative of the Nation of Islam.

There is a history of distrust that the Black community has when it comes to the methods and motives of law enforcement, including the FBI’s COINTELPRO pitting various Black groups against one another, explained Student Minister Muhammad. Police are known to use current or former gang members as informants in investigations, but what additional conflicts or problems that could result or enflame are questions that concern some observers.   

“The LAPD never let it be known they were investigating Nipsey, which they should have.  We want to know to what degree were you investigating him, and could your investigation be part of what got him killed?” Min. Muhammad questioned. 

He added, “We don’t know, but we know it’s more than what we thought.  … This is bigger than just this dude Eric Holder killing him. There was an atmosphere set up in and around Nipsey, and could it be that the LAPD and/or their informant played a role in that? We don’t know, but those are questions that have to be answered.”

In late June an LA judge ruled that grand jury transcripts in Nipsey’s murder case should be released and would not jeopardize Mr. Holder’s right to a fair trial.Charlene Muhammad, National Correspondent, Final Call staff contributed to this report.