In August 2022, police officers from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office raided Afroman’s Ohio home in response to a tip that he was growing marijuana there. The raid showed no evidence of illegal activity, but it uncovered what law enforcement officials considered suspicious items, such as firearms and large amounts of cash. After the raid, authorities seized these items and returned them to Afroman along with a receipt for them.
Afroman responded to the raid by writing a trio of songs about it: “Lemon Pound Cake,” “Will You Help Me Repair My Door” and ‘Why Are You Disconnecting My Video Camera.”
He also released accompanying music videos, including footage from his home surveillance cameras and his wife’s cell phone showing the police raid in progress. This video went viral and has been seen millions of times on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, and Instagram.
In subsequent interviews, Afroman expressed his disappointment at how the police had handled the situation. He said he felt violated by the search of his home and believed there was no need for such an extensive investigation into what he considers a minor offense. He also noted that no charges regarding the incident were ever filed against him.
The seven law enforcement officers involved in the raid have recently filed a lawsuit against the rapper Afroman, accusing him of improperly using footage from the raid in his music videos without their consent.
They claim that this has caused them to be ridiculed by people who saw Afromans posts across all of his social media platforms and that the posts have made it riskier now for them to carry out their duties. They also allege they’ve received multiple death threats from anonymous members of the public who have seen some of Afroman’s social media postings.
Specifically, they are suing Afroman for invasion of privacy because the videos show their faces and uniforms – even though they had requested that he not post such footage. In addition, the officers are seeking compensatory and punitive damages and a court order preventing Afroman from posting more videos featuring their faces or uniforms.
The lawsuit is still ongoing, with no resolution in sight thus far. It will be interesting to see how this case plays out and the outcome for both parties involved.
So in honor of Afroman and his fight for justice our friend and longtime activist Cheri Sicard “Cannabis Cheri” created a recipe for infused lemon pound cake as a tribute.
The recipe can be found here.
