Source: Matt Winkelmeyer / Getty
Tariq St. Patrick, of the hit series Power, is one of the most reviled characters in recent primetime television, stemming from his dealings with “dirty cop” Raymond James. But there was no production crew or acting involved last week for Michael Rainey Jr., the actor who plays Tariq, when he had his latest run-in with police. And Rainey swears it was only the camera in his car that saved him from a tragic end with a real-life Raymond James.
On Friday, The Shade Room released a video from Rainey, which showed the tail end of his interaction with a certain police officer. Rainey and a friend are sitting in a car when the cop in question, who is Black, is already at the driver’s side window with his hand by the holster as the recording starts. “This guy was bout to shoot me I swear that camera saved my life,” Rainey wrote on social media about the incident. “Look what he does as soon as he looks into the lens. someone please send me his precinct or whatever if you know. These power tripping ass police need they badge taken. Unlawful traffic stop.”
https://twitter.com/TheShadeRoom/status/1375540612242542594?s=20
The officer curtly tells the occupants of the vehicle, “Just gimme the license.” When someone says back to him, “Can you please take your hand out [of] the car?” the officer appears to see the camera and then move his hand away from the holster area.
“Didn’t even pull me over. Didn’t tell me what I was being pulled over for. Just came to whip yelling and sh*t wit his hand on his gun,” Rainey added. “This guy also said stop reaching while I was looking for my license. I guess he was tryna come up with a reason to shoot me.”
Rainey has received support on social media from other celebs like 50 Cent (“Damn 🤦♂️ this is crazy”) and D.C. Young Fly (“🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾”). And one particular Instagrammer named Juju, @ju.1s, really captured the vibe with the caption, “Always remember All skinfolk ain’t kin folk🤦🏾♀️ 💯 glad he ok🙏🏾❤️🙌🏾💯.”
