A former producer of the legendary Wu-Tang Clan is taking legal action against the NYPD over his alleged wrongful imprisonment. On Thursday (March 3), Benjamin Crump and fellow attorneys of Derrick “True Master” Harris filed a 76-page complaint in which they claimed their client served four years in Rikers Island in connection to a sexual assault crime he didn’t commit. They further accused the police department of purposely hiding evidence that would absolve him of the allegations.
“Throughout the near-decade of torment, the defendants were presented with opportunity after opportunity to change course and ‘right this wrong,’” the lawsuit reads. “Time and time again, when faced with the choice to do the right thing, the defendants relentlessly chose to continue down the wrong path.”
Harris faced attempted rape, sex abuse, assault and unlawful imprisonment charges connected to an incident that occurred in his Harlem apartment. The producer was sharing a glass of wine with a female acquaintance when she allegedly stripped naked and started yelling from his balcony. He called authorities to the scene, but it was already too late. Police, who had already received calls from concerned neighbors, forced their way into his apartment with no warrant, “punched, pushed and slammed him to the ground, causing physical injuries and handcuffed him.”
During the trial, the woman claimed that Harris assaulted her before attempting rape. Authorities then conducted a search of his home, this time with a warrant, and lied about finding his blood and semen at the scene. He was eventually released on bail then rearrested on escape charges. He spent four years enduring violence in the West Facility of Rikers Island before he was acquitted by a grand jury. The charges were officially dropped four years later.
Harris is responsible for the production of Ol’ Dirty Bastard‘s “Brooklyn Zoo” Ghostface Killah’s “Fish” and a few songs on Method Man’s Tical. After the producer filed the suit, Wu-Tang member GZA shared his support on social media. “We’re with you @trumas,” he wrote alongside Crump’s announcement of the filing and a petition calling for the termination of the officer who arrested Harris.
See GZA’s post below.
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