LOS ANGELES (AP) — A rapper could face criminal charges after a tweet from his account incited a telephone flash mob that overwhelmed the emergency phone system at one of busiest stations of the Los Angeles County sheriff's department, the agency said Saturday.
The sheriff's department alleges the Game tweeted the phone number of the Compton station Friday and told his 580,000 followers to call the number if they wanted an internship.
The southeast LA County station's phones started ringing Friday evening, and the lines were jammed for more than two hours. During that time people with legitimate issues that included a missing person, spousal abuse and two robberies were also trying to call in, department spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
The rapper later posted that his account had been hacked but also tweeted that it was an accident.
"Yall can track a tweet down but cant solve murders!" the tweet said. "Dat was an accident but maybe now yall can actually do yall job !!!!"
A call and email to The Game's publicist, Greg Miller at Big Hassle Media, was not immediately returned.
Investigators will document what happened and turn over the information to the district attorney's office by Monday, Whitmore said. The rapper could face obstruction of justice or other charges related to delaying a peace officer from doing their job, he said.
"The most important thing for the sheriff's department is that anything that stands in the way of us doing our job we take very seriously and we need to look at," Whitmore said. "You've got a guy who posts on a social media site the phone number of a sheriff's station. We want to get the word out 'Don't do that,' obviously."
The Game is a California-based rapper whose 2005 debut album, "The Documentary," entered the charts at the top and sold 586,000 units in the first week, according to his website. The rapper, who grew up in Compton, has collaborated with famed rappers including Dr. Dre, Kanye West and 50 Cent.
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The sheriff's department alleges the Game tweeted the phone number of the Compton station Friday and told his 580,000 followers to call the number if they wanted an internship.
The southeast LA County station's phones started ringing Friday evening, and the lines were jammed for more than two hours. During that time people with legitimate issues that included a missing person, spousal abuse and two robberies were also trying to call in, department spokesman Steve Whitmore said.
The rapper later posted that his account had been hacked but also tweeted that it was an accident.
"Yall can track a tweet down but cant solve murders!" the tweet said. "Dat was an accident but maybe now yall can actually do yall job !!!!"
A call and email to The Game's publicist, Greg Miller at Big Hassle Media, was not immediately returned.
Investigators will document what happened and turn over the information to the district attorney's office by Monday, Whitmore said. The rapper could face obstruction of justice or other charges related to delaying a peace officer from doing their job, he said.
"The most important thing for the sheriff's department is that anything that stands in the way of us doing our job we take very seriously and we need to look at," Whitmore said. "You've got a guy who posts on a social media site the phone number of a sheriff's station. We want to get the word out 'Don't do that,' obviously."
The Game is a California-based rapper whose 2005 debut album, "The Documentary," entered the charts at the top and sold 586,000 units in the first week, according to his website. The rapper, who grew up in Compton, has collaborated with famed rappers including Dr. Dre, Kanye West and 50 Cent.
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