The R&B singer/songwriter/producer Tank (born Durrell
Babbs) was by police and arrested in
Tank and a female companion, Ira Dewitt, were leaving the House of Blues in the area of the French Quarter during NBA All-Star Weekend. Unaware that a shooting incident had occurred earlier in the same vicinity, they unknowingly entered into a crime scene.
The 32-year-old vocalist was allegedly leaving the performance venue and on his way to an awaiting car service when he and his companion discovered that Decatur Street had been blocked off because of an alleged shooting.
The situation apparently then took a turn for the worst when Tank questioned the approach of the cantankerous cops, who were aggressively arguing with his female guest. It was then that the alleged attack on the singer took place. Tank was roughed up and subdued by police using a taser, an electric shock weapon. Ira Dewitt, a psychologist who accompanied the singer, said that officers also got physical with her and that she ended up on the ground as well. According to Dewitt, all but one of the officers were white.
Tank was first taken to New Orleans University Hospital for treatment and to jail where he was booked on charges of public intoxication and resisting arrest. He is due to appear in court on April 17th and has retained the services of the Law Office of Bernard L. Charbonnet, Jr. to handle the issue.
On Feb. 20, Tank released a statement about the incident. "The most frustrating part of the entire incident is knowing that I did not do anything to pose a threat but was treated like a criminal. With a clean-cut image and a lady by my side, the law took matters into their own hands and chose to endanger my safety and those accompanying me. It's 2008 and New Orleans is still very much in trouble beyond the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I'm a living witness," he vented.
