According to a French municipal prosecutor’s office, rapper Lil Baby was freed from detention on Friday after being fined for possessing cannabis in his car. He was apprehended beside NBA superstar James Harden, who was frisked but not arrested. Lil Baby’s arrest on Thursday on one of Paris’ most affluent avenues stunned supporters of two high-profile Americans in town for Paris Fashion Week — and raised issues about racial profiling in France. Following his release, the Grammy-nominated Atlanta rapper wrote on Instagram, “I’m good,” and stated that he was returning to the United States.
According to a French police official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to be publicly named, plainclothes officers stopped Harden, Lil Baby, and his bodyguard because their car smelled strongly of cannabis.
Lil Baby, whose actual name is Dominique Jones, originally refused to allow police to search his vehicle, according to the official. Because the Americans didn’t comprehend what was going on, the atmosphere was tense. According to the official, uniformed officers arrived and searched the vehicle, discovering 32 grams of cannabis. According to the prosecutor’s office, Lil Baby and his bodyguard were arrested on suspicion of narcotics trafficking and were freed Friday morning after being fined. A plainclothes police frisking a confused-looking Harden while he holds his phone is captured on video and uploaded online.
A local student recalled seeing the commotion on what is generally a peaceful street dotted with high-end businesses. Lance Avraham Pena, a witness, said, “I turned my head and it was astonishing, I saw Lil Baby and James Harden… they were standing and being frisked.” According to Pena, who filmed a portion of the incident, language appeared to be an issue, and cops didn’t recognize the two Americans.
Fans of Harden and the musician in France expressed their displeasure with racial profiling on social media. The Paris police department, on the other hand, sought to deflect criticism of the arrest by tweeting that it was based on an “infraction.” Both guys are African-American, whereas the officers are white. “Would a white individual have been stopped the same way?” wondered a lawyer who studied racial profiling in France. … It’s far from certain.” Slim Ben Achour, a lawyer, presented evidence indicating that white persons in France are less likely to be stopped, frisked, or penalized for drug offenses.