NJ State Police pulls out guns on Summer Jam crowd

Link of the altercation above.

State Police today said an officer working a detail at Giants Stadium pulled his gun on rapper Jim Jones and his entourage after an assault broke out during a backstage incident earlier this month.

A portion of a videotape released this morning shows the plain clothes officer pulling the gun as he and a group of colleagues confront Jones and his entourage following a performance at “Summer Jam” on June 1.

A person with Jones’ entourage said the officer didn’t properly identify himself, prompting Jones to begin making references to Sean Bell, who was shot 50 times by New York City police in 2006 (A grand jury recently acquitted the officers of wrongdoing in that incident).

“The weapon was pulled to try to bring order to the rest of the crowd and to keep them from advancing [toward the troopers],” he said.

Troopers were heavily outnumbered at the time and did what they had to do to keep control, the captain said. He couldn’t say how many troopers were at “Summer Jam,” adding that most were outside for crowd control. Only three were backstage when an initial incident with a bodyguard sparked the altercation, he said.

The crowd began to chant, “Sean Bell,” because they knew the three men in plain clothes were troopers, Della Fave contended.

“Contrary to what was stated in the video clip, state police identified themselves very early on in the altercation,” Della Fave said. “And everyone involved in the altercation was well-aware of their status as New Jersey State Troopers.”

What the video on whatspoppin.net omits, as Della Fave noted, is the arrest of a man identified Jones’ bodyguard, Charles Chandler, 26, of Brooklyn, N.Y., who was charged with grabbing a trooper's head and face with both hands. It was that incident, he said, that caused the confrontation.

In the video, the officer -- wearing a red "Hoboken" shirt and a New Jersey Devils cap backwards -- points the gun during the confrontation. A member of Jones' entourage shouts at him: "You didn't even pull out your ID, man!"

Another section of the video shows the officer returning with several other officers -- all wearing their badges around their necks.

Della Fave couldn’t say whether anyone in the group threatened police but said, “The whole atmosphere was threatening.”

Jones, who wasn't on the bill, was a show-stopping surprise for the crowd, estimated at about 44,000. He performed his well-known anthem, “We Fly High (Ballin’),” and his latest single, “Love Me No More.”

Moments after Jones closed the show around 10:30 p.m. his entourage tangled with police backstage.

This was the sixth consecutive “Summer Jam” held at Giants Stadium. The event, which began in New York in 1994, moved there after quickly outgrowing Big Apple venues.

"Summer Jam," hosted by New York hip-hop radio station Hot 97, was headlined by rappers Kanye West, Lil’ Wayne, hip-hop legends Public Enemy and singer Alicia Keys.