An episode of local cable show Tempe StreetBeat put the Arizona city’s police department in hot water, AP reported.
In the episode of the series, produced by Tempe police, a sergeant pulled over two men in August in the parking lot of the Arizona Mills mall for littering, according to AP. He then told the men they could avoid a ticket "if the two of you just do a little rap about, what do you want to do a rap about? Littering? About the dangers of littering."
The two men agreed and each performed a short rap, laughing afterward, according to AP.
Rev. Jarrett Maupin, president of Arizona's chapter of the National Action Network, called for apologies from Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman and Police Chief Tom Ryff and for an investigation into the show, and Rev. Oscar Tillman, president of the Maricopa County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, also expressed outrage, AP reported.
Hallman and Ryff apologized Thursday and suspended future production of Tempe StreetBeat, according to AP.
