Legendary Hip Hop producer True Master is suing the New York Police Department for his wrongful rape conviction which resulted in a 4-year stay on Rikers Island.
Together with Civil Rights attorney Ben Crump, Derrick Harris, known in the music industry as “True Master” is suing the NYPD after DNA evidence surfaced exonerating the producer of the rape charge he’d been convicted of, for which he served 4 years on Rikers Island.
According to Vice, who originally reported, Crump and two other attorneys filed a “76-page complaint Thursday arguing that he wasn’t only a victim of the false accusation and violent arrest but a five-year-long legal battle to have all the charges dropped.”
In 2011, Harris was accused of raping a female who he hosted in his Harlem residence during which time the two shared a glass of wine. The woman, according to Harris, removed her clothing and began yelling from his brownstone balcony. He asked her to leave and called the authorities — according to the suit that is being filed by Harris and Crump.
During the initial trial, the woman testified that Harris held her down, punched her, and attempted to rape her. Hours after the incident, the police knocked down his door, slammed him to the ground, and cuffed him. He was also charged for a separate crime that took place in a park across the street. The only witness, a woman, said the only thing she could remember was that the person responsible was a tall Black man.
Harris received a partial acquittal in 2015 before his exoneration in 2020, but the complaint alleges, the police hid evidence that would have exonerated him long before then.
“Time and time again, when faced with the choice to do the right thing, the defendants relentlessly chose to continue down the wrong path.” — the complaint reads.
Those named in the complaint include: the City of New York, the New York City Police Department, three officers who carried out Harris’ 2011 arrest and the investigation into his alleged crime, and the New York County district attorney’s office.
“Even though he was at the pinnacle of success, he was a Black man in America which made him an easy target for a discriminatory criminal justice system,” Crump said Thursday.
Harris spent 4 years in the west facility of Rikers Island as a pre-trial detainee. The day of his court date, he represented himself and though the police stuck by their findings, DNA samples from a rape kit and other evidence proved his innocence quite quickly.
“Defendants were in possession of this Medical Examiner Report as early as September 26, 2011, yet continued prosecution of Mr. Harris for years leading up to this trial of 2015 despite access to conclusive evidence of innocence,” the lawsuit reads.
It wasn’t until 2020, though, that all the charges were completely dropped, which included: attempted rape, sex abuse, assault, unlawful imprisonment, and escape charges — stemming from being told his family posted bail and leaving the facility only to get re-arrested on the grounds of “escaping.”
The suit alleges Harris has lost everything as a result. Whether he’s still producing is unclear. More on this story as it develops.