Misa Hylton has spoken out against federal law enforcement officers’ raid on ex-Sean “Diddy” Combs’ Los Angeles home last week, which included Justin and Christian “King” Combs.
On March 25, the stylist and fashion designer uploaded an edited video of house surveillance footage showing officials executing their search warrant on Instagram.
In the videos posted on Tuesday, police enforcement officers can be seen entering the West LA property with pistols drawn and hunting for evidence.
The tape suggests that law enforcement officers stopped two men, possibly Justin and Christian Combs, in a hallway on the property. Justin Combs, 30, approaches law enforcement officers with his hands above his head at one point, while Christian Combs, 25, is shackled and his chest slammed against a wall.
“The over zealous and overtly militarized force used against my sons Justin and Christian is deplorable. If these were the sons of a non-Black celebrity, they would not have been handled with the same aggression. The attempt to humiliate and terrorize these innocent young BLACK MEN is despicable!” Hylton wrote in the post’s caption.
“Enough is Enough! Did Justin need several laser beams from firearms pointed at his chest?? Did Christian need a gun pointed at the back of his head while he was handcuffed??” she added. “How many times have we seen young UNARMED BLACK MEN not make it out of these types of situations alive??”
She stated her son, Justin Combs, contacted an attorney who is looking into “the excessive use of force, which was unnecessary and certainly not required by this search warrant.” She also promised to “fight for justice, utilizing every imaginable resource.”
According to three-year research done by the Associated Press and published recently, 1,036 people died over a decade as a result of confrontations with law officers involving force that was not intended to be lethal. A third of these fatalities were among black people, who make up only around 12% of the US population.
Furthermore, a 2019 study by the University of Michigan, Rutgers University, and Washington University found that police in the United States kill black men approximately 2.5 times more frequently than they do white men. The study concluded that police use of force was the sixth biggest cause of death for young black men.
What we know so far about the raids at Diddy’s homes
On March 25, in the afternoon, a helicopter from local Los Angeles television station Fox 11 obtained images overhead as hundreds of law enforcement officers fanned out on the grounds of what was allegedly Combs’ Holmby Hills property.
Videos showed Homeland Security Investigations agents entering the home with their firearms drawn and removing many people who were inside while carrying out the search warrant.
When asked to comment on the Combs case, a Homeland Security Investigations spokesperson told USA TODAY that “Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.”
According to multiple sites, including the Los Angeles Times and the Associated Press, the bicoastal searches were part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation based in New York.
Rebecca Lonergan, a professor of lawyering skills at USC Gould School of Law and associate director of the Legal Writing and Advocacy Program, told USA TODAY that HSI probably had “evidence of criminality” and was “looking for corroboration of that evidence.”
“The fact that they went in fairly heavily armed means that they were expecting to find weapons,” she went on to say. “It also means that they thought there was some risk of violence when they were executing the warrants.”
Sean Combs’ lawyer has reportedly complained about officials’ “overuse of military-level force” during the search. In a statement to USA TODAY last week, Aaron Dyer maintained the music mogul’s innocence while criticizing the raids.
Dyer said in a statement that there was a gross overuse of military-level force during the execution of search warrants at Mr. Combs’ residences. Authorities’ excessive display of force and hostility, as well as the treatment of his children and employees, are unacceptable.
Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities,” Dyer said, and none of the rapper’s relatives were arrested.
“This unprecedented ambush, paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence, leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits,” Dyer went on to say.
“There has been no determination of criminal or civil responsibility for any of these charges.” Mr. Combs is innocent and will fight every day to clear his name.”
