‘You’re getting one to the chest.’ Rapper files $10M claim over CA deputy’s threats

Los Angeles rapper Feezy Lebron has filed a $10 million claim against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after a deputy threatened to shoot him during a traffic stop, according to the claim and body camera footage released by the sheriff’s department.

Lebron, who filed the claim under his legal name Darral Scott, was sitting in his car on New Year’s Eve while waiting for a friend when deputies approached him, according to the claim, which was filed on Jan. 18.

One deputy opened the door and “without warning” grabbed Lebron’s arm and tried to pull him out, the claim says. When Lebron asked what was happening, a second deputy pulled out a canister of pepper spray and pointed it at Lebron.

Body camera footage released by the sheriff’s department on Jan. 6 shows the deputy’s arms outstretched with the pepper spray pointed at Lebron, who is still sitting in the car.

“I’m just gonna spray him dude, watch out,” the deputy can be heard saying to the other deputy on scene.

“Get out or you’re getting sprayed,” he says to Lebron, who then raises his hands above his head.

When Lebron doesn’t move from the car, the deputy puts the pepper spray canister away and pulls out a gun. He points it at Lebron.

“I’m gonna make this super easy on you. You put this car in drive, you’re getting one to the chest,” he says.

Later he says, “If you don’t listen, you’re done. You understand me?”

The sheriff’s department said in a statement that they “have not received a copy of the claim and are unable to comment on pending litigation.”

According to a news release published with the video on Jan. 6, deputies approached Lebron’s car at around 5:45 p.m. on Dec. 31 during a “patrol check” of the area in South Los Angeles. Their “attention was drawn” to Lebron, who was sitting in his car in a parking lot.

The encounter ended with the deputies detaining Lebron and issuing him a citation for a missing front license plate, according to the release and Lebron’s claim.

“During the contact, the deputies ordered the man to exit his car,” the release says. “One deputy displayed pepper spray, then drew his firearm and used unprofessional language, which later resulted in a complaint filed by that community member.”

Lebron said that deputies forced him out of his car, searched him and handcuffed him so tightly that he had “visible bruising the next day,” according to the claim. He was also detained in the back of a patrol car for around 20 to 40 minutes while deputies searched his vehicle “without consent or lawful justification,” the claim says.

When he later went to file a complaint at a sheriff’s department station, deputies made him wait around four hours and allowed the deputy who’d pointed the gun to try to “bully” him into not filing, the claim says.

The incident has caused Lebron physical injuries and emotional distress, the claim says. He is seeking $10 million in damages.

Lebron “thought he would be killed and would never see his children again,” the claim says. “(Lebron) has been completely traumatized by the incident and sought emergency care several days later. He continues to suffer panic attacks, is unable to sleep, and is afraid to drive.”

Lebron was not immediately available to comment.

The rapper, who recently released a song Toxic with Wiz Khalifa, posted audio of the incident on his Instagram on Dec. 31.

“2 police officers Jus put guns in ma face n threatened to shoot n kill me for sittin in ma own car smh,” he wrote in the caption. “#2023 feel like 1923.”

In another post on Jan. 3, he said he was glad to be alive.

“These guys are literally hunting us,” he wrote. “This is the way I’m most likely to die ..it will always end with handcuffs or guns drawn.”

This story was originally published January 19, 2023 at 3:37 PM with the headline "‘You’re getting one to the chest.’ Rapper files $10M claim over CA deputy’s threats."