To Get Out of a Ticket & if Youre Black do a Rap

[WaTcHeR]

City leaders have apologized after a program on Tempe's cable channel showed a white police officer telling two black men they could get out of a littering ticket by performing a rap.

Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and police Chief Tom Ryff apologized for the show Thursday and suspended its future production after black community leaders voiced outrage and disappointment over it.

The segment appeared on "Tempe StreetBeat," a program produced by police in the Phoenix suburb that followed several officers on patrol. It shows Sgt. Chuck Schoville pulling over two men in August in a mall parking lot.

He first asks for a name and ID from the driver and then asks the two men if they knew how much the fine is for littering.

The officer then tells the men that they can avoid getting a littering ticket "if the two of you just do a little rap about - what do you want to do a rap about? Littering? About the dangers of littering."

The two men agree and each perform a short rap, laughing afterward.

Leaders of chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the National Action Network expressed outrage over the segment and demanded that the city take action.

A message left with the police department seeking comment from Schoville was not immediately returned Friday. Because the men in the video were not cited, Tempe police had no record of their names.

[WaTcHeR]

Tempe's mayor and police chief spent much of Friday again apologizing for a police-produced television program that showed an officer telling two black men they could get out of a ticket by performing a rap.

Both city leaders said they were caught by surprise the day before when they learned about the "Tempe Street-Beat" episode, which had been airing repeatedly on the city's cable channel during November.

In a private meeting at City Hall on Friday morning, Mayor Hugh Hallman and Police Chief Tom Ryff apologized personally to the Revs. Jarrett Maupin and Oscar Tillman, two minority rights leaders who had voiced outrage and disappointment about the show.

The city officials then apologized again at an afternoon news conference.

"I want to make things very clear," Hallman said. "The video that was shown on our Channel 11 is completely unacceptable."

Both Hallman and Ryff moved quickly Thursday night after learning of the minority leaders' anger over the program from the Tribune.

They gave initial public apologies, yanked the show from the air and vowed an investigation into it.

"We did not hide," Hallman said at the conference. "We brought it forward."

The swift actions seemed to satisfy Maupin, president of the National Action Network's Arizona chapter, and Tillman, chairman of the Maricopa County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Both said, however, they would wait to see what the investigation finds.

"This is in no way excusing what happened on this day," Maupin said. "But we are taking steps forward."

In the "StreetBeat" episode, host Sgt. Chuck Schoville is shown actually pulling over two men in August in the parking lot of Arizona Mills mall.

"No littering ticket if the two of you just do a little rap about -- what do you want to do a rap about? Littering? About the dangers of littering," Schoville tells them.

The men each perform a short rap and laugh, shaking Schoville's hand.

Moments later, as the two men are going on their way, Schoville says "Raiders in the Super Bowl this year."

"You're right," one of the men says.

"You know why you say I'm right?" Schoville jokes. "Because I've got a gun and a badge. I'm always right."

All three laugh.

Schoville, a 25-year member of the force, was out of town when the show he hosted for five years was pulled, Hallman said. He has not responded to a request through the police department to comment.

Ryff, who took over the force Monday from Ralph Tranter, said the investigation into the matter would likely be fast.

"We have it on video. We know what happened," Ryff said.

The investigation will be conducted by police internal investigators and the city diversity manager. It will focus not just on the incident, but on the oversight and conduct of the show in general, Ryff said.

Neither Schoville nor any of the other city employees involved with "StreetBeat," including credited producer officer Brandon Banks, had been punished or suspended.

Banks defended the show the day before, saying Schoville told the men he pulled over they would not get a ticket prior to making the rap request. They could have said no, according to Banks, who had been at the scene with Schoville.

The footage was cut for time considerations, Banks said. His account, however, does not match the cut footage he released to the Tribune.

In the footage, which is more than seven minutes long, Schoville is seen quizzing the driver about littering, his suspended license and, after learning the man was born in Chicago, gangs from that area.

"You don't know about that from Chicago?" Schoville asks.

"No, I go to school," the man says.

Banks said the department has no record of the men's names because they were let off with a warning.

Ryff said he will not direct the investigation to find the men, but if investigators feel it's necessary, they will.

[WaTcHeR]

A police sergeant won't be disciplined for his role in a television program that showed him asking two black men to perform a rap song to get out of a littering ticket, officials said.

But after completing an administrative police review, authorities said the department would have to undergo diversity training, and the police-produced cable television show, "StreetBeat," will be taken off the air for a few months until checks and balances can be developed.

"And hopefully it'll never happen again," Tempe police spokesman Jeff Lane said.

Sgt. Chuck Schoville, a 25-year department veteran, stopped the two men in August in a mall parking lot after seeing a motorist toss a paper bag from his window. The stop appeared on a segment of "StreetBeat," which showed Schoville talking to the driver about the consequences of a littering ticket and asking the passenger to pick up the litter - as well as perform a rap song.

He also discussed football with the men, predicting the Oakland Raiders would be in the Super Bowl. The driver agreed, and Schoville said, "You know why you say I'm right? Because I've got a gun and badge. I'm always right. That's the way it works, right?" Then the men laughed, and shook hands.

According to the review, the driver, Louis Baker said the exchange "made him feel violated, categorized and confused."

Schoville did not return a phone call seeking comment.

An administrative review by the police department concluded that Schoville failed to make clear that the rap request was separate from enforcement, and the televised segment "gives the distinct appearance that Mr. Tarvin and Mr. Baker had to perform to avoid a citation," which led the men and some community members to find the segment "inappropriate and offensive."

[WaTcHeR]

When a cop suggest you do something, you pretty much could be risking your life if you don't do as they say.

Officer Schoville was just showing off in front of the camera. He just can't get over the fact that he's still nothing but a piss poor example of a cop and a pussy little punk to boot.