Police intentionally “blindsided” ASAP Rocky with their Wednesday arrest of the Testing artist at LAX, per a new report.
TMZ, which was among the outlets initially reporting on the arrest, said Thursday that both Rocky and Rihanna were returning from Barbados at the time of the arrest. “At least” 10 officers were waiting for Rocky when his plane arrived at a private terminal, at which point a “shocked” Rihanna is said to have “looked on” as he was arrested.
As previously reported, Rocky was arrested on Wednesday in connection with a shooting police says occurred in the Hollywood area last November. In an initial public statement, the Los Angeles Police Department detailed the alleged shooting incident and confirmed Rocky had been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office will decide whether charges will be pursued.
The latest TMZ report says that Rocky’s arrest had been planned for more than a week, with the nature of how it was carried out allegedly having baffled his team.
In many cases of this nature, it’s customary for police to arrange a voluntary surrender by making contact with a lawyer and planning for the individual to turn themselves in. In this instance, however, police elected to not give Rocky or his team notice. Per sources cited in the report, this was done intentionally so police could simultaneously carry out a search of Rocky’s home.
The latter aspect of Wednesday’s developments has been widely criticized, with footage (see above) showing the use of a battering ram. One of Rocky’s neighbors, meanwhile, was reported as having toldNew York Times writer Joe Coscarelli they were “frankly offended” by how police handled the situation. “He’s a great neighbor,” the witness said of Rocky. Furthermore, Rihanna reportedly wanted to stop by Rocky’s to pick up some of her things. Police, however, are alleged to have not allowed this.
Neither Rocky nor Rihanna—who are currently expecting their first child together—have publicly commented on any of this. A source told Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday that the arrest “was not something [Rihanna and Rocky] saw coming.” Rocky was later reported to have posted $550,000 in bail, at which point he was released. Per online booking documents, Rocky has a court appearance set for Aug. 17.
