November 20, 2006

Game Arrested For Allegedly Impersonating Police Officer

By Corey Moss (MTV.com)

The phrase "Let's Ride" may have gotten the Game into some deep trouble.

The rapper was arrested in New York on Thursday and charged with criminal impersonation of an undercover police officer after jumping into a taxi and telling the driver to ignore traffic lights.

According to a New York Police Department spokesperson, the Game (born Jayceon Taylor) stopped a Lincoln Town Car outside Park Central hotel near 56th Street and 7th Avenue and told the driver he was an undercover cop.

The Game ordered the driver to race to 48th Street and 8th Avenue, but along the way the man flagged down a police officer and informed him of the situation. Police arrested the rapper at 10:30 p.m. at 43rd Street and 6th Avenue. He was taken to the nearest precinct and charged.

Details on the charges and bail were not immediately available.

Game called the arrest "a ploy by the hip-hop police to humiliate me" in a statement issued Saturday afternoon (November 18). "I never impersonated anyone, especially and absolutely never a police officer."

Game's arrest is the latest chapter in a long history of run-ins with the law. In May he was arrested in Burbank, California, for possession of a deadly weapon. In October 2005, he was busted at an autograph signing for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, and in April of this year, a warrant was issued for him after he missed a court date pertaining to that incident.

Game's second major-label album, The Doctor's Advocate -- featuring the single "Let's Ride" was released Tuesday.