Popcaan Tussles With Police After Stunt-Riding Incident

Dancehall star Popcaan reportedly engaged in an impromptu stunt-riding demonstration over the weekend to please gathered crowds on Constant Spring Road in St. Andrew. This got him into hot water with the cops, who had asked him to stop.

In the video widely circulated on Sunday, Popcaan, wearing yellow and riding a three-wheeled bike, steps in when a police officer attempts to halt other bikers. The officer then confronts Popcaan, leading to a scuffle. The situation escalates as the officer reaches for his gun, but bystanders intervene and separate them. The other bikers flee, leaving Popcaan among a noisy crowd of supporters and police officers in the chaotic scene.

“Popcaan was heading home and saw the crowd at the Up to the line After Champs party and decided to stop and do stunts in the road to excite the crowd. He was warned to desist, and he refused and the cops held on to the bike because he has committed an offence,” a police officer familiar with the situation told DancehallMag on Monday.

The officer said Popcaan might be charged with several offenses after the incident. “Popcaan will be charged by summons,” they said.

Possible charges could include careless driving without causing an accident and blocking the road.

DancehallMag contacted Popcaan’s attorney-at-law, Bert Samuels, who said he wasn’t aware of the incident.

During the face-off between the cops, irate bystanders verbally abused the members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

“Go suck oonu madda and move oonu bloodcl—-t,” one shouted.

Another bystander accused the cops of ‘bad mind”.

“Oonu bad mind because oonu caan buy three wheel bike, go suck oonu madda!”.

Online users expressed fear for the Unruly Boss’ safety in light of his frequent run-ins with the law.

“Swear mi just want Poppy just left Jamaica,” one wrote.

But not everyone was complicit in Popcaan’s action.

“No plate not even on the bike, mi sorry no soldier wasn’t there fi bruk him up,” one wrote.

Popcaan, whose real name is Andrae Sutherland, has had a tense relationship with the police in Jamaica over the years. In January 2024, during a court appearance, he declined an opportunity to apologize to the police for his behavior at Unruly Fest when lawmen summarily ended the St. Thomas event in December. The entertainer was fined $6,000 after pleading guilty to several charges, including disorderly conduct and using abusive and calumnious language. He was also fined $40,000 for breaching the Noise Abatement Act.

In 2021, he was fined $10,000 after he pled guilty to several traffic violations in the Yallahs Traffic Court in St Thomas.

In April of that year, after being charged, Popcaan took to social media to lament that he was being unfairly targeted by the police. However, Jamaican cops have denied Popcaan’s assertions, with the commanding Officer for the St Thomas parish, Superintendent Allison Byfield, claiming that the arresting officer did not even know the international Dancehall singer.