Steven Ferdman/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — A New York City police precinct commander is under investigation for allegedly telling officers to shoot the rapper 50 Cent, officials said.
The New York Police Department launched an internal probe of Deputy Inspector Emanuel Gonzalez, commanding officer of the 72 Precinct in Brooklyn, who allegedly told officers during a roll call meeting last June to shoot 50 Cent if they spotted him at an NYPD-sanctioned boxing match the rapper was said to have planned to attend, according to police.
“The matter is under internal review,” a police department spokesman told ABC News on Monday.
The alleged threat last summer came a month after Gonzalez filed an aggravated harassment complaint claiming the 43-year-old rapper, whose real name is Curtis Jackson, threatened him on social media after the owners of one of the rapper’s favorite Brooklyn nightclubs filed a notice of claim against the city alleging Gonzalez was trying to shake them down.
The owners of Club Love & Lust in Brooklyn filed a lawsuit against the city in December 2018, claiming that shortly after opening in 2014, Gonzalez and others began a “campaign of harassment to close the business due to the race and/or national origin of the business owner, its patrons and other stakeholders.”
The suit additionally claims that a campaign of “selective enforcement” continued through the fall of 2017, requiring the club to face a court challenge to its liquor license. Around the same time, according to the lawsuit, Gonzalez requested 11 “free” round-trip tickets on charter flights to Puerto Rico and a generator for a doctor who lives in Puerto Rico and was dealing with the destructive aftermath of Hurricane Maria.
The lawsuit is yet to be resolved and the city has denied the allegations made by the club owners.
Roy Richter, the NYPD Captains Endowment Association President, previously told the New York Post that Gonzalez is being unfairly accused and described him as an “outstanding commander.”
The Daily News first reported on Gonzalez’s alleged threats against 50 Cent.
Citing an unnamed source with knowledge of the case, the Daily News has reported that during a roll call at the Brooklyn precinct station house on June 7, 2018, Gonzalez, a 30-year NYPD veteran, allegedly told officers to “shoot him on sight” if they saw 50 Cent at the match, which the rapper attended.
“The inspector just said that at roll call,” the source told the newspaper.
Gonzalez has since reportedly tried to pass the comment off as a joke, but the incident, which was not recorded, was reported to NYPD headquarters and prompted the internal probe.
Gonzalez could not be reached for comment.
On Sunday, 50 Cent took to Twitter, accusing Gonzalez of “abusing his POWER.”
“The sad part is this man still has a badge and a gun,” the rapper wrote.
This is how I wake up this morning, ??♂️ This guy Emanuel Gonzales is a dirty cop abusing his POWER. The sad part is this man still has a badge and a gun.
I take this threat very seriously and im consulting with my legal counsel regarding my options moving forward. pic.twitter.com/5HWk2tqYFo— 50cent (@50cent) February 17, 2019
50 Cent said that he was consulting with his lawyers “regarding my next options moving forward.”
The rapper called Gonzalez a “Gansta with a badge” and made a direct appeal to New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, tweeting, “Deputy Inspector Emanuel Gonzalez has to be dealt with.”
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