A black female cop who works for the NYPD has filed a lawsuit against the department and the city claiming she was discriminated against by angry coworkers and left without any backup from fellow officers after she performed in what they call an “anti-police” rap video.
But she says the song isn’t anti-police and is really just about peace.
Rapper Atisha “Nukstarr” Samuel was on rookie probation to become a police officer with the New York City Police Department when she released a song themed around racism in law enforcement.
“It’s the war against the white man on the beat. With his handguns, quick to pull out on a n—a if he dare run,” Nukstarr sings in one line, which caused NYPD internal investigators to launch an investigation, the New York Post reported.
“They say we gotta make America great again, we were never great, we were slaves and caged in,” the then 26-year-old sang in her video as images of police brutality and violence flash across the screen.
“They see us like a gorilla in a jungle. So we gotta get it. A black ski mask and a black fitted.Got my crew and a couple hittas. My momma need bread so Imma go and get it.”
Nukstarr, who doubles as officer Samuel for her day job, filed a lawsuit against the city and the NYPD claiming fellow officers “misinterpreted” her lyrics as being anti-police and retaliated against her, according to Blue Live Matter.
In her lawsuit, officer Samuel claims her car was keyed and says she was interrogated by Internal Affairs about whether or not “she had a problem with cops.”
Samuel also alleges a police union representative told her to “ask for forgiveness” from fellow co-workers at roll call and other officers tried to make her life miserable.
At least one supervisor declined to send backup after she requested it as her and her partner responded to a call about a mentally-ill person, according to her complaint.
Samuel claims she was harassed by NYPD’s Career Advancement Review Board and that one colleague threw an arrest report she’d written and just printed out into the garbage.
“You should be ashamed, I saw the video, you talking about hating white cops, you are a disgrace you should resign,” one officer, who refused to give her union cards, said.
Christopher Albanese, the attorney representing Samuels, says officers have taken out of context and misunderstood the lyrics in Nukstarr’s song and that the song is really about peace.
“The song is not against the cops in any capacity,” he told the New York Post.
Internal Affairs investigators from Manhattan South attempted to determine if officer Samuel violated any department policies by performing in her rap video.
Apparently, officer Samuel has scrubbed the actual song in question from the internet. But you can still watch it in the New York Post’s article, which can be read here.
According to a more recent video, some might say officer Samuel, or Nukstarr, is actually pretty talented.
Read about her bio on HipHopMyWay here.
Watch her more recent work below.