Snoop & The Game Meet With The LAPD To Build Trust Between Police & The Community
On Friday (July 8), mere hours after five police officers were murdered in Dallas, Texas, and the same week two Black men were killed by police officers in separate incidents, Snoop Dogg and The Game led a march of more than 50 people to the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters. What made the march particularly exceptional was that it was comprised exclusively of men, many of whom were gang members.
Snoop, an admitted member of the Rolling 20s Crip gang, and The Game, a self-proclaimed Bloods member, used their star power and gang affiliations to form Operation H.U.N.T., an acronym for “Hunt Us Not Today.” On social media, the two Cali kings called for men of color only (out of safety) to join the march, sending a message to law enforcement authorities. Those participating in the march are the same men who have felt hunted by law enforcement, especially in Los Angeles, for decades.
Find your purpose and serve it accordingly ✨????????✊????✨????????????
A photo posted by snoopdogg (@snoopdogg) on
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“[Today, we will] make the Californian government & it’s law branches aware that from today forward, we will be UNIFIED as minorities & we will no longer allow them to hunt us or be hunted by us !!! […] Do not: bring any weapons or anything illegal. Do not come high or belligerent … We don’t need any HOT HEADS or anyone there for the wrong reasons… We will stand as we are, UNIFIED. I’m calling ALL GANGS, ALL RACES, ALL GROWN MEN affiliated or not & we will stand UNIFIED,” ordered Game’s Instagram post.
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At the event, Snoop told The Los Angeles Times why he and friend/collaborator Game orchestrated the march. “The mission is to reintroduce our community to the LAPD… just to get some understanding and dialogue. We’re the ones they’re going to be dealing with, we’re the ones that are going to be pulled over. […] We’re here [in the name of] peace.”
Game expressed sensitivity regarding the Dallas police officer slayings on Friday, saying “I took those police uniforms off of those police officers that met an untimely demise last night and I turned them into what they really are before they put them on. And those are human beings, like me and everyone standing here.”
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The march, which also was joined by Russell Simmons, coincided with the graduation of a new class of LAPD officers. Snoop Dogg urged those graduates with some of the advice police advocates are using on police brutality victims. “Think about the person you’re pulling over and their family,” said the husband and father of four. “That way, you’ll have more of a consideration of life and deescalate as opposed to escalate.”
According to the Times Snoop and Game, along with a handful of the march’s leaders attended a 45-minute meeting with L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti, Police Chief Charlie Beck and law enforcement officials.
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The L.A. police chief left the meeting saying it was a step in the right direction. “We are all furious about what has happened to this conversation – that there is no dialogue, that is it becoming a screaming contest from opposite sides of the room,” said Chief Beck. “It can’t be that. The way to solve problems is to sit down, to look them in the eye and work it out.”
The L.A. Times has video from Friday’s event.
In the days since, Game has continued his activism. The multi-platinum veteran artist launched a GoFundMe page for the benefit of Little Rock, Arkansas police officer Tommy Norman. Game seeks $50,000 to do enhance Norman’s efforts patrolling in a reported largely-Black community. “The money raised will be used to help Officer Norman continue his mission strengthening the community,” says the crowd-funding page. “We will be purchasing and delivering items such as snacks, drinks, and toys for him to keep his trunk stocked for the kids and members of the community. We are The Robin Hood Project!”
At press time, the fundraising has more than reached its goal—with over $51,000 donated. Game says the cause was initiated by his son, Harlem.