Gangster rapper who claimed brutality joins department he once sued

[Xiphos]

THREE YEARS ago, Roberto Acevedo Jr. received an out-of-court settlement from a civil suit against the Police Department in which he alleged that he had been beaten by cops, according to a source and court records.

As recently as two years ago, Acevedo, under his stage name "Young Reek," starred shirtless in a rap video that shows him flashing $100 bills and his co-stars displaying what look like drugs.

One year ago, Acevedo joined the Philadelphia Police Department and now patrols the streets he once rapped about for the department he once sued, according to sources, court documents and city payroll records.

Read more: From lawsuit to blue suit: He claimed police brutality, then performed gangsta rap. Now he's Officer Acevedo | Philadelphia Daily News | 02/22/2011

[Jenna]

I wonder what he'll rap about in his next video!

[pgg]

With any luck he will have to use force and get sued himself. See how the shoe fits then.

[jmur5074]

In all likelihood he'll be fired for some form of corruption or criminal acts. I'm sure he hasn't left his old life entirely behind, and his old friends will eventually lead him to give his department a black eye.

[Pudge]

Well that's something you don't see every day. I'm amazed that he passed a background.

[IMGreat101]

karma

[Xiphos]

With any luck he will have to use force and get sued himself. See how the shoe fits then.

This is what I hope happens.

In all likelihood he'll be fired for some form of corruption or criminal acts. I'm sure he hasn't left his old life entirely behind, and his old friends will eventually lead him to give his department a black eye.

This is what I think will happen.

[Mike325]

I say give him a chance.. He's already been on a year and we've not heard anything..

He was what, 16 years old when this incident occurred? I'm sure there was quite a bit of peer pressure involved in his decisions back then, as long as he was just rapping about shit and not actually out there doing it, then it's possible he'll be a fine officer.

[APB]

(Personal opinion only.) I agree with Mike325. We all know cops who have had life experiences on the "other side" and for whom that knowledge can come in handy once they decide to come over the line. If this kid genuinely did turn a corner in his life, who am I to judge his past? Plus, we know zero about what he's like as a cop, and the article seems to indicate that he's a well-respected member of the community where he now lives.

[Bob Loblaw]

I say give him a chance.. He's already been on a year and we've not heard anything..

He was what, 16 years old when this incident occurred? I'm sure there was quite a bit of peer pressure involved in his decisions back then, as long as he was just rapping about shit and not actually out there doing it, then it's possible he'll be a fine officer.

this

[Xiphos]

I think 1 year from a gangster rap video is too soon to show turning a life around. 5 years of clean living, maybe.

[Ducky]

The article said his dad is a retired cop. Maybe Dad beat some sense into the kid?

[Pudge]

I think 1 year from a gangster rap video is too soon to show turning a life around. 5 years of clean living, maybe.

Agreed.

[121Traffic]

I say give him a chance.. He's already been on a year and we've not heard anything..

He was what, 16 years old when this incident occurred? I'm sure there was quite a bit of peer pressure involved in his decisions back then, as long as he was just rapping about shit and not actually out there doing it, then it's possible he'll be a fine officer.

I would respectfully disagree. He's 22 now, making him 18 or 19 at the time of the alleged incident, and at least 19 at the time he made the videos. Peer pressure isn't an excuse at any time in your life when it comes to conducting backgrounds and explaining your mistakes for a police job...especially not at that age. EDIT***: He was hired a year ago, which only puts him ONE YEAR out from the videos at the most. ONE YEAR!

As for only rapping about something and not being out there doing it, I again disagree. Rapping about killing people and possessing/transporting illegal drugs, and profiting from that rap, isn't a whole lot different from posting comments on Facebook or Myspace condoning that stuff. How many cops have gotten in hot water over that? They might not actually be doing that stuff (or anything else controversial like mishandling suspects, etc), but you have to be above reproach, and I would argue those videos are disastrous for your credibility. If a defense attorney can drag that online stuff into court or civil litigation against an officer, do they think they won't do the same in spades when this guy is primary on a case involving violence or drugs??

What if he had rapped about killing cops? Would anyone feel any different? I bet some would. It's no different. Violence is violence, and just because he isn't out doing it (that we know of) makes no difference. I'm not up on my hip hop so I don't really know a lot of names. Who's a big proponent of killing cops nowadays? If a big name rapper who made his nut by rapping about killing cops, and hypothetically had no criminal history (that's a fucking White Unicorn if I've ever heard of one), tried to apply to Philly PD a YEAR after making a video about killing cops, we wouldn't be having this discussion.

Might be a fine officer sometime? Sure. I don't care if he's a fine officer NOW though. Just because you're good at a job from a technical point of view doesn't necessarily mean you should be actually doing it. There's plenty of sleazebags out there that probably have street smarts that would put them at or above par with any officer on this site or elsewhere. Integrity, however, is the key. I would rather take an honest, morally sound cop who needs a little help now and then rather than a superstar who was dealing drugs (or merely rapping about it) a year ago. That's an extreme scenario, but you get the idea I hope.

It might be discrimination to not hire him based on the suit alone, but it isn't discrimination to pass him over based on prior conduct. If he has any sort of criminal record past age 18, outside of traffic tickets, etc., he doesn't belong there. Not yet anyway. Most places require 5 years out from hard drug use, IF they take you at all, and at least 3 from marijuana, and/or a couple years of a clean record or even association with known criminals/felons and their activities. If I haven't been arrested or committed crime, but am actively associated with those who I KNOW are committing crime, that's curtains right there as far as I would be concerned. Can this guy honestly say that he quit that shit cold turkey? Just two years from being a gangster rapper? And that's assuming that he quit it overnight and went straight. If I'm his background investigator, I'm probably shitting my pants right now. Who did they talk to in the investigation? You're telling me that not one person they talked to mentioned how this guy talked about "popping dudes" and how that seemed to indicate he seemed to outwardly condone it? That would be a disqualifier at ANY place I know of. Even if I couldn't prove that he was doing any of that, I would think that a BI can articulate his concerns and be allowed to err on the side of caution. Sorry, you didn't pass since we think it's just a little too recent, etc etc. Maybe next time.

Also, I'd want to know if he took a lump sum or annuity on the settlement. Is he still getting monthly checks now from the City? I think a case can be made for a conflict of interest, but I'm no expert in that area. Sure, cops have sued their PDs before, won, collect their checks, and continue to work at the PD. This is slightly different. Whereas the civil litigation might not be enough to terminate employment, I would think it sure as hell is enough to not touch someone with a five foot pole. It doesn't seem like you're discriminating against a protected class...you're choosing not to invite liability into your organization by hiring someone who is a known source of liability by his own actions.

Again...give him 3-5 years from his last known criminal conduct, and I might be sold. It's just too soon.

[Mike325]

The lawsuit occurred when he was 15-16, I don't have enough interest to figure out how long that particular rap video occurred. I tried watching that video and couldn't understand the lyrics (I really don't mind rap), but was unable, too soft and quiet. All I saw there was someone else flash a baggie of weed, not even this guy in question. I couldn't understand what he was rapping about, but it didn't seem to be about killing cops. Would it be different if he did rap about that? Of course, but he didn't.

I think you draw a lot of conclusions and make an unbelievable amount of assumptions about this persons past.

I again point out that he's been a cop for a year, and is the son of a cop, and we haven't heard anything about it until now. Do you honestly think with the anti-le media being what it is, they wouldn't be all over this like flies on stink?

[lewisipso]

Best of luck for the department but I have doubt. On a side note he will probably like wearing his badge on a neck chain.

[10-42Adam]

Why would Philly PD even hire him? Wow...

[121Traffic]

The lawsuit occurred when he was 15-16,

How do you figure? He's 22 now. The first line of the article states that he received an out-of-court settlement three years ago. Age 19? The article lists the date of the incident as November of 2005. So 17? 18? Either way, I'm a firm believer that if you're old enough to be tried as an adult, you're old enough to accept responsibility for your actions, and not rely on "peer pressure" as an explanation. Peer pressure at that age, IMO, tends to reflect a weakness of character that might indicate you're not ready for the streeses this job places upon yuour integrity.

I don't have enough interest to figure out how long that particular rap video occurred. I tried watching that video and couldn't understand the lyrics (I really don't mind rap), but was unable, too soft and quiet. All I saw there was someone else flash a baggie of weed, not even this guy in question.

The rap video involving the appearance of illegal drugs, according to the article, was filmed two years ago. I didn't pay much attention to the lyrics in that video either. Whether or not it was this guy in question actually holding the marijuana holds no meaning for me. He chose to associate with it, and our associations are at the heart of our job. If you think otherwise good candidates haven't been weeded out of the hiring process for their associations (and rightly so), you have an overly simplistic view. Again, he chose to represent himself that way.

Side note: I have a co-worker who used to be an active gang member in his mid to late teens. He still looks the part. VERY large black guy, built, covered in tattoos. He grew up in Five Points, Denver, long considered the Harlem of the West for its rich jazz history, and notable for being the center of the Bloods powerbase in years past in the Denver Metro area.

After he decided to get on the path towards LE in his late teens/twenties, he worked menial jobs, and actually became a bus driver for a number of years before being hired as a cop nearly a decade after swearing off gang life. He is by no means a murderer, but he is candid about being arrested for possessing a handgun as a minor, minor drug busts, etc. He realized that his associations and record set him back behind his peers who were also pursuing a cop job. He knows that he had to spend that near-decade proving that he truly left that lifestyle. To this day, he lives by the mantra that if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck, it's a fucking duck and don't step in the duck shit that's being flung your way. He read this article and was the first to look sideways at the guy. He's also the hardest on the bangers we encounter because he has the street smarts to know what that culture is about, and its idolization of entitlement and exploitation of the weak. He's also the biggest anti-Obama guy I know.

I tend to agree with his judgment. If this guy wants to act like a gangster rapper, and embrace that way of life, have at it, but be prepared to accept those consequences. So he got lucky and got hired with a PD that apparently didn't care all that much. Doesn't change the fact that the vast majority of the PD's that I know of wouldn't touch him, and that tends to lend credence to what I and a lot of others here believe.

I couldn't understand what he was rapping about, but it didn't seem to be about killing cops. Would it be different if he did rap about that? Of course, but he didn't.

Why would it be different? Intrinsically, to you and I, killing cops is a much more emotionally damaging offense. But really, murder is murder isn't it? I don't know if he's rapped about killing cops or not. I won't bother to check because it doesn't make a difference in terms of his apparent moral fiber. The article cites his lyrics...

"A top gunner, flyer than Tom Cruise, I pop dudes,
Rockin' 'em, knockin' 'em out they shoes.
They baggin' 'em givin' 'em six like Action News.
I'm aimin' for the top, it's so easy I can't lose."

So rapping about killing cops would be enough to disqualify, but killing random people wouldn't be? That's a slippery slope when we start holding our lives as somehow more valuable than others. The penalties for killing cops are usually worse for what we represent (law, order, and the manifestation of the executive branch's enumerated powers), but our lives are no more valuable than the next man's.

I think you draw a lot of conclusions and make an unbelievable amount of assumptions about this persons past.

While I will admit to drawing conclusions based on the evidence presented before me, I am truly sorry that you feel that I'm saying anything "unbelievable." I assure you, it isn't my intent to come off sounding like I'm picking on anyone here. I'm just passionate about my beliefs. It isn't like this guy was trying to live a secluded, isolated existence and the media somehow hunted him down. This guy decided to put the evidence about himself out there. I'm just basing my conclusions on the evidence provided here. I qualified most if not all of my statements with "IF" because I have no desire to paint him in an unnecessarily harsh light. If I had to admit to one statement that might be interpreted as unfair, it would be the assumption that his background came up totally nil in terms of references that describe this guy's lifestyle. I'm sorry, I just find it incredulous.

I again point out that he's been a cop for a year, and is the son of a cop, and we haven't heard anything about it until now. Do you honestly think with the anti-le media being what it is, they wouldn't be all over this like flies on stink?

That would be a fair statement under different circumstances, but it seems that really nobody has heard about either his suit or his rapping until now, including IA, the Commissioner's office, the FOP president, the FOP rep, etc. From their quotes in the article, it seems like the information is fresh to them, hence why IA--after a whole year of employment--is just now opening a file on the matter. It seems that IF the PD knew about his possibly sketch past, it would have been investigated fully already. See why I'm questioning his BI? IAD should NOT be investigating your pre-hire behavior...that is if the BI people did their job.

Again, please don't take this post as arguing just for the sake of arguing. I also apologize for the paragraph quoting. I only seem to do it when I'm passionate about an issue. You made good points and I wanted to make sure I addressed them.

[Mike325]

Brother don't sweat it, in fact I'm giving you reps because I enjoy a respectful debate.

I'll leave with this, I've been doing background investigations for a few months now. Recently I did a background on an officer that had been fired from another agency, and when I went to said agency the staff there gave me the types of statements I expected, telling me how awful this guy was. I read through his packet, talked to several people, and realized this guy had been railroaded and is actually a fantastic cop.

Do I think this guy is the victim of similar circumstances? No I'm not saying that, but I have definitely learned that there is way more to a person and their abilities as an officer than what can be read on a piece of paper. The reason I keep mentioning the fact that nothing bad has been said about this kid for a year is because I'm sure the press has poured over fellow officers, supervisors, citizen contacts, etc, LOOKING for dirt. I'd imagine they'd blow it up by now if it's there.

He may be a turd, but he could also be a great officer.

[pharmer]

karma

One can only hope...