Grammy-Winning Artist Detained By Cops In A Case Of Mistaken Identity

via Twitter

Early Monday morning, Grammy-winning musician and former Fugee, Wyclef Jean, found himself in a scary situation after being wrongly detained by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. Jean was coming home from a recording session with rapper T-Baby when he was pulled over by an officer and handcuffed before being able to identify himself. “I was treated like a criminal,” Jean later said about the incident on Twitter.

“I was asked by the police to put my hands up,” Jean wrote on Instagram. “Then I was told do not move. I was instantly handcuffed before being asked to identify myself. Nor was I told why I was being cuffed.” In video taken during the incident, the 47-year-old “Ready or Not” rapper threatened to sue the sheriffs for the unnecessary harassment. After the officers realized Jean didn’t fit the description of the man they were looking for, he was released.

Why am I in Handcuffs!!!!!????? This is what I said to the LAPD after they put me in Handcuffs for mistaken identity !!!!!!!

A post shared by Wyclef Jean (@wyclefjean) on Mar 21, 2017 at 4:52am PDT

“They stopped him thinking he was the person involved in the robbery,” LA County Sheriff spokesperson Jeff Gordon told The Washington Post. The officers had been on the lookout for an armed black man wearing a red bandana who had robbed a nearby liquor store 15 minutes before Jean was stopped. Jean was wearing a partially red-colored bandana, which may have caused the confusion. Later that morning, a 26-year-old who authorities believe is the real suspect was apprehended.

(Editor’s Note: In his tweets, Jean incorrectly refers to the officers as Los Angeles Police Department, when he was detained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.)