Afroman's verdict is just the beginning: Officers also deserve criminal scrutiny |
Afroman’s verdict is just the beginning: Officers also deserve criminal scrutiny
On March 18, a jury in rural Adams County, Ohio, rejected a defamation lawsuit in a matter of hours. That speed was itself a verdict — not just on the merits, but on the character of the case.
Seven law enforcement officers had sued a music artist for using his own home security footage to criticize a police raid on his own home. The officers lost, in what civil liberties advocates called a huge First Amendment victory.
The more important question, though, is going largely unasked — whether the officers who brought this lawsuit should face criminal scrutiny as well.
In August 2022, deputies from the county sheriff’s Department executed a search warrant at the home of Joseph Foreman, known professionally as Afroman. They entered with force, damaged property and seized cash on suspicion of drug trafficking and kidnapping. No charges followed. The money was eventually returned.
Foreman had security cameras, so he used the footage in music videos and social media posts that mocked the deputies by name and face. The videos spread widely. Some generated commercial revenue.
The deputies’ response was a $3.9 million lawsuit alleging defamation, invasion of privacy and misappropriation of their likenesses.
The ACLU described the lawsuit as “nothing short of absurd.” The more precise term is “strategic.” This is the structure of what courts call a SLAPP — a Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — which attempts to impose legal costs and reputational risk upon speakers until they give up, deciding the speech is not........