The Los Angeles Police Department released rapper Killer Mike from custody a few hours after officers escorted him from the Crypto.com Arena in handcuffs at the Grammys pre-show award ceremony on Sunday, Feb. 4.
According to Entertainment Weekly, LAPD arrested Mike, whose real name is Michael Render, that afternoon at 3:20 p.m. PT for reportedly squabbling. Police booked him at 7:30 p.m. PT for misdemeanor battery and released the rapper an hour later.
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Public Information Officer’s Twitter account initially published a report around 11:30 p.m. on Feb. 4 about LAPD’s Central Division detaining a “male adult” at the “700 block of Chick Hearn Court (Crypto.com Arena) before revealing Mike as the arrestee a minute later.
Videos surfaced showing Mike in handcuffs as police directed him out of the stadium.
Hollywood reporter Chris Gardner shared on X that a source claimed the altercation had “nothing to do with anything that happened” that day “inside the arena” and called it “a big nothing.”
But the Run The Jewels member credited confusion and an “overzealous” cop as the problem.
“As you can imagine, there was a lot going on, and there was some confusion around which door my team and I should enter. We experienced an overzealous security guard, but my team and I have the utmost confidence that I will ultimately be cleared of all wrongdoing. Until that time, keep listening to ‘Michael,’ and keep going after your dreams.”
A video from TMZ captured the rapper having a heated exchange with security during his endeavors to push past them to enter the establishment.
It’s unclear if Mike and his team left the stadium and weren’t allowed back in or if they were entering for the first time, but police placed Mike in handcuffs outside in the rain as one of his team members hovered an umbrella over his head.
Hopefully, Mike’s arrest didn’t damper the rapper’s night after he earned three Grammy Awards that afternoon for Best Rap Song, Best Rap Performance for “Scientists & Engineers” and Best Rap Album for Michael.
“Atlanta, it’s a sweep,” Mike exclaimed in his speech after winning Best Rap Album. “You cannot tell me that you get too old. You can’t tell me it’s too late. You can’t tell me dreams [don’t] come true. It is a sweep!”
During his Best Rap Performance acceptance speech, Mike acknowledged he’s a Black man in America and said his dream was always to be a part of music, urging others to embrace their imagination and use it to change the world.
