Rapper T.I. says the help he gave police in preventing a suicide jump Wednesday had nothing to do with his court hearing Friday, when a federal judge will decide whether to revoke his probation.Sorry, folks, but this all just seems a wee bit contrived, and given T.I.'s pending court date, a bit too convenient.
V-103's Ryan Cameron noted in an interview with T.I. that "there are going to be some out there who say this timing is quite impeccable, that T.I. would do this, that he saw something to gain for his own situation."
Wednesday afternoon, T.I. said he was pulling out of his driveway and headed to a video shoot. He said he heard on V-103 about the man threatening to jump from 400 Colony Square, the 22-story Midtown building that houses the radio station.
Peachtree Street was temporarily blocked off between 14th and 15th streets, and MARTA buses were rerouted, police said. Witnesses in nearby buildings reported seeing a man sitting on the edge of the building.
T.I. "came to the scene and offered to talk to him," Officer James Polite with Atlanta police told the AJC.
An officer at street level recorded a video message from T.I. and sent it to a negotiator on the roof, who showed it to the 24-year-old man.
T.I. said the message simply stated "that I was here and I was looking forward to meeting him and that no matter what's going on in life now, it gets better."
When the man came down, he spoke to T.I. for about five minutes.
The man was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital for evaluation. He will not face charges. Atlanta police credit T.I. with helping avoid a potentially devastating event.
I'm obviously not suggesting that the Atlanta police are in collusion with a cRapper most of them only know from his impressive mugshot collection, but something here seems fishy. A Grand Hu$tle if you will.
Question: Does this story seem a wee bit unbelievable to you? Will the judge be more lenient on T.I. as a result of this heroic gesture?
