Despite winning three of the music industry’s most prominent prizes for rap music, rapper Killer Mike was taken away from Sunday night’s Grammy Awards in handcuffs by police. The incident occurred after he swept up the Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance, and Best Rap Album awards for his work on the record-breaking OutKast album Stankonia in 2003. In his acceptance speech, he thanked his collaborators, including Future, Andre 3000, and Eryn Allen Kane. The 66th Grammys were hosted by comedian and former “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah and broadcast live from Los Angeles’s Crypto Arena on CBS.
The singer’s rap career has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. He became one of the most recognizable faces in hip-hop after his debut album landed him several top 10 hits, and he gained further acclaim for his politically charged lyrics that often criticize police brutality and other social injustices. He has also made a name for himself as an activist, speaking out on issues that affect black people and advocating for the Democratic Party. He has hosted Netflix’s Trigger Warning with Killer Mike, a documentary series on the topics of police violence and inequality, as well as spoken out after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and subsequent deaths like that of Freddie Gray, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor.
PEOPLE has contacted representatives for the rapper, whose real name is Michael Render, for comment. A spokesperson for the LAPD told us, “A male adult was detained around 4 pm on Sunday after he involved himself in a physical altercation.”
The spokesman did not confirm or deny that the same person was arrested in connection with the alleged fight at the awards. A widely shared TMZ video clip shows the man being escorted out of the event in handcuffs.
An attorney for the civil rights group Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai, which is representing the rapper in the lawsuit, says it’s too early to tell what exactly happened at the Grammy Awards but that the underlying issue is an ongoing controversy over LAPD stop-and-frisk tactics, which have been deemed illegal by a U.S. court and that they’re ineffective for crime-fighting purposes.
Vulture has reached out to LAPD officials and representatives for the Recording Academy and the Grammys. A response has yet to be received.
TMZ first reported on the incident and later released a video of the alleged scuffle between the man and police. The video has been removed from the site. TMZ also obtained the full police report, which has not been made public. It appears the man involved in the scuffle was booked for misdemeanor battery. The case was transferred to the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office. The investigation is ongoing. A police rep said the department would not be offering any further comments.