Meek Mill testifies in alleged racial profiling trial

Rapper Meek Mill testified in court in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Monday (28Apr14) after suing cops for pulling him over for no reason in 2012. The Ima Boss hitmaker, real name Robert Williams, claims the two arresting officers racially profiled him and three other black males on 31 October, 2012 when they flagged them down.
Cops claimed the Range Rover was stopped because its tinted windows were too dark, and they were given cause to search the car after a sniffer dog smelled marijuana.
The four men, one of whom was an armed, off-duty Florida policeman, were arrested and detained for several hours, even though no drugs were found and no charges were filed, and the incarceration forced the hip-hop star to scrap a scheduled appearance in Atlanta, Georgia.
Asked about the incident while on the witness stand on Monday, Philadelphia native Mill said, “In neighbourhoods like where I come from, four black males in a car… we’re always being asked to be searched. All I was doing that night was going to work and doing what I had to do.”
The 26 year old maintains his civil liberties were infringed by the unauthorised arrest and he is demanding compensation for total losses of $67,000 (£41,875). He is also claiming lost income after insisting the arrest cost him money in a deal he signed soon afterwards with sports giant Puma, and seeking compensation for his pain and suffering.
The jury trial continues.