T.I. was arrested on Wednesday for simple assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness at a gated community in Georgia where he owns a home.
And audio from the incident’s 911 call seems to offer more insight into what happened leading up to the rapper’s arrest, published by TMZ on Thursday.
In the phone call, the security guard for a gated residential community tells authorities he is being ‘threatened by a resident’ as one can hear the Whatever You Like hitmaker shouting and intimidating the guard in the background.
Heard, not seen: 911 audio from before rapper TI’s arrest seems to offer more insight into the incident, as the Whatever You Like hitmaker can be heard shouting and intimidating the caller, a residential security guard, in the background. Mugshot, above
The 8 minute audio begins with the guard saying: ‘A resident is walking back here at the guard shack where I’m at. I’ve been threatened by a resident and he’s here now knocking on the door.’
The rapper can be heard in the background knocking on the door aggressively while yelling at the guard.
‘You step back there? I own property here, you work for me. I asked you to step back.’
He continued to heckle the security worker while the man gives more details to the 911 operator.
T.I can be heard again, complaining the guard ‘disrespected him’ by not telling the rapper his name.
The 911 operator asks what sparked the argument, the guard explains that T.I. was trying to get into the gated community but was stopped by the caller because he ‘didn’t know him.’
Show me some respect: T.I (above March) can be heard again, complaining the guard ‘disrespected him’ by not telling the rapper his name
T.I.’s racket continues as he accused the guard of falling asleep at his post.
As the call goes on, the caller said that the altercation did not get physical.
The hip hop star — real name Clifford Joseph Harris Jr — was taken to Henry County Jail in Georgia on a charge of public drunkenness after authorities arrived and assessed the situation.
T.I. himself told The Blast on Wednesday that the arrest was racially motivated.
He claimed the altercation began with him calling out a security guard who was asleep on the job at his gated community; but escalated because of ‘white cops in a very white area.’
T.I’s attorney Steve Sadow took to Facebook to support his client’s story.
‘The guard continued to refuse entry without justification.’
Reasons: The rapper, above May 9, told The Blast that the arrest was racially motivated
‘Words were exchanged and apparently the guard and/or a supervisor called the police.’
According to TMZ, the Ant-Man actor tried to enter his own house in the early hours of the morning ‘but didn’t have his key.’
T.I. – who was with a friend at the time ‘argued with the guard at the security shack, who wouldn’t let them enter.’
In addition to the leaked 911 audio, the rapper was seen arguing with cops in leaked jailhouse security footage obtained by TMZ.
On the tape, the 37-year-old is seen frustratingly trying and failing to get a satisfactory answer from arresting officers as to why he was brought there.
Legal support: T.I’s attorney Steve Sadow took to Facebook to support his client’s story
‘I’ve been waiting… asked you a question as to why I had been arrested,’ he calmly asked, befor getting the reply ‘you were acting like a fool.’
‘I wasn’t acting like no fool. How was I acting like a fool?’ he fired back. ‘Because I was questioning the person?’
The officer, off camera, informs the accused the guard didn’t have to answer him, and that TI ‘didn’t have to come back’ to the scene after leaving.
‘I didn’t have to but I have a right to come back,’ he insisted. ‘I pay millions of dollars for a house in that community.’
Again he pushed: ‘I asked you a question and you never answered me,’ to which the officer replies: ‘You argue every time I answer you.’
‘No sir I am not arguing I am merely requesting an answer: why was I arrested?’ T.I. continued.
Questions: On the tape, the 37-year-old is seen frustratingly trying and failing to get a satisfactory answer from arresting officers as to why he was brought there
‘You said I was acting the fool. How So? You said because I came back, and I questioned a man….
‘You shouldn’t have came back,’ the officer again interjected.
‘I shouldn’t have came back? That’s my right as a tax-paying citizen!’ T.I. shot back idignantly.
After that, the officer frustrates him even further by simply replying ‘Okay’ to everything.
‘Why does that constitute for me to be arrested? Sir you still haven’t answered my question… you don’t answer any questions?
‘Well you’ll be answering to a lawyer at that point,’ he concluded, to which the officer replied: ‘That’d be awesome.’
Previous arrests: The rapper was arrested in 2003 and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer among other charges [L]; and his 2010 mugshot [R] for alleged possession of a controlled substance
Wednesday’s incident is just the latest of T.I.’s legal woes.
On the first of this month, the What You Know rapper’s business partner filed for bankruptcy of their Atlanta restaurant Scales 925, The Blast reported citing court documents.
Former employees have sued the company over unpaid wages, including overtime. There are those who say they were asked to work for free.
T.I. has attempted to wash his hands of these pay disputes, saying such matters had not been his purview.
It is possible the legal actions contributed to the decision to file for bankruptcy.
The Georgia Department Of Revenue and Internal Revenue Service have placed the restaurant on notice.
Scales 925 Atlanta opened in April 2015 and closed down about a year later, an event closely followed by the legal troubles over employee pay.
Only this March, T.I. and his wife Tiny got out from under a $1,397,283.47 IRS lien, having forked over more than $1 million in back taxes, Page Six reported.
Dapper: Wednesday’s incident is just the latest of T.I.’s legal woes. Seen here January 2018