Rapper The Game and his son have launched a GoFundMe campaign for a popular Little Rock, Arkansas police officer who prominently features his good deeds towards African-Americans online. The Los Angeles native posted about the initiative on his Instagram page Sunday informing fans it was his son Harlem’s idea.
“So as I told you yesterday, I had conversations with my oldest son @hvrlemtaylor about good cops & bad ones & he did his research & found officer @tnorman23’s page & i was touched by how active he is in the black community where he polices,” Game began.
“Being that my son is on vacation with his mother visiting relatives in Atlanta, Arkansas & Louisiana he wanted to do something for officer @tnorman23 in Little Rock so he developed a #GoFundMe to try & raise $10,000,” the hip-hop artist wrote. “So that officer @tnorman23 can stuff his trunk with toys, goodies, food & other things to help him continue contributing to the kids & people in Little Rock Arkansas.”
The officer at the center of the donations is Tommy Norman. Having worked for the North Little Rock Police Department since 1998 according to his Facebook page, Norman has amassed a large following on social media, where he spotlights friendly interactions with Black youth.
The GoFundMe initially began with a goal of $10,00 but it was met within a few hours. The goal has now been raised to $50,000 and almost $44,000 has been raised in one day.
Game’s fundraiser follows his criticism of the non-violent response to the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile at the hands of police.
“All we gone do is repost it & type “SMH” over & over again huh ??” he wrote July 6. “Then we gone put #JusticeForAltonSterling & #BlackLivesMatter hashtags on Instagram & pretend that’s us taking action huh ???”
Two days later, The Game and fellow rapper Snoop Dogg led a peaceful march to the Los Angeles Police Department’s headquarters. It was in response to Sterling and Castile’s deaths. According to ABC News, LAPD Police Chief Charlie Beck invited the artists to meet new recruits. The Game revealed it had been the first positive interaction he had with an officer.
“We need to look each other in the eye and start a relationship,” he told the news station.
That experience influenced him to support Harlem in the fundraiser for Norman after seeing a video from the policeman’s account.
