DUBLIN, Calif. -- MC Hammer suggests he was a victim of racial profiling when he was stopped and arrested by police in the Northern California city of Dublin.
The '90s rap star tweeted on Saturday that an officer approached him in his car and asked "Are you on parole or probation?"
He says that as he handed over his ID, the officer reached inside the car and tried to pull him out.
Dublin police Lt. Herb Walters told the Oakland Tribune that Hammer, who was born Stanley Burrell, was arrested Thursday for investigation of obstructing an officer in the performance of their duties and resisting an officer.
He declined to comment to KTVU about Hammer's version of the arrest.
Hammer tweeted that he wasn't bitter and considered what happened "a teachable moment."
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MC Hammer: Dublin police asked if he was on parole or probation before arrest
DUBLIN -- Rapper and entrepreneur MC Hammer spoke out Saturday on Twitter, saying he was accosted without cause by a police officer in Dublin before being cited for obstructing the cop Thursday night.
Hammer, an Oakland native and Tracy resident whose birth name is Stanley Kirk Burrell, was arrested at the Hacienda Crossings shopping center on suspicion of obstructing an officer in the performance of their duties and resisting an officer, according to Dublin police Lt. Herb Walters. He was booked and released at Santa Rita Jail, Walters said, adding that police do not believe either alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident.
Burrell, 50, a multiplatinum recording artist who scored hits with songs like "U
Can't Touch This" and "Too Legit to Quit," said on Twitter that an officer approached him in his car, tapped on his window, and asked if he was on parole or probation. A devout Christian who has spoken publicly about his faith on numerous occasions, Burrell has not had any public run-ins with the law.
As he attempted to give the "chubby elvis looking dude" his identification, Burrell said on Twitter, the officer reached inside the car and attempted to pull him out of the driver's seat through the window. Burrell said he "was laughing when he was grunting and pulling on me ... I had just left the weight room."
"It was comical to me until he pulled out his guns, blew his whistle and yelled for help," Burrell tweeted. "But make no
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mistake he's dangerous. (The) only thing more dangerous than a scared man with a gun, is a scared man with an agenda, a gun and a badge.
"Instead of being bitter, I'm taking the opportunity to make this a 'teachable moment' and 'eye opener' for my many friends & colleagues."
Friday morning, Burrell appeared at San Quentin Prison as a mentor in the "Last Mile" program, which helps prison inmates prepare for new lives out of custody by encouraging them to develop smartphone and computer apps.
Burrell declined interview requests sent through Twitter on Saturday.
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