Police arrest artist who was hired by city to paint murals: 'I don't do graffiti, I sell paintings'
A popular Detroit artist, who city officials commissioned to create ten murals in an effort to deter illegal graffiti, was arrested by police officers because they thought he was committing an act of vandalism. The incident occurred while Sheefy McFly was painting his first, out of ten, commissioned murals.
McFly, whose real name is Tashif Turner, was painting the mural for the initiative City Walls on a viaduct on Detroit's northeast side on June 19 when police arrived.
Responding Detroit Police Department (DPD) officers believed that McFly, who had been working on the mural for several days, was a vandal, according to the Detroit Free Press. As the 29-year-old musician and artist tried to explain the situation, and a city official arrived to back up his claims, "four or five" more police cars came to the scene, McFly told the newspaper.
McFly did not have his city-issued permit on him and he was ultimately arrested for allegedly resisting and obstructing police, as well as on an outstanding traffic warrant.
DPD spokesperson Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood told the Detroit Free Press that the responding officers felt McFly was uncooperative with their investigation. Kirkwood said that the resisting and obstructing charge would be sent to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for further review.
"It's an oxymoron — doing something for the city and being arrested by the city," McFly said. "They treated me like a felon even though I was commissioned by the city to do this."
"The Head of the Graffiti Task Force investigated me and asked what's my tag name....I said I don't do Graffiti I sell paintings," McFly tweeted on June 22. "I'm a commissioned muralist."
The artist, who says he feels racially profiled and bullied following the incident, allegedly spent approximately 24 hours at the Detroit Detention Center.
On June 27, the police department told the Detroit Free Press it would not pursue the resisting arrest and obstruction charges against McFly.
“After further review and investigation of the totality of the circumstances, we decided to not move forward with the submission of the warrant,” said DPD spokeswoman Sgt. Nicole Kirkwood in a statement on Thursday.
According to McFly's contract, he is expected to paint ten murals throughout the city, and that he would receive $10,000 for his work.
"When we're doing murals, we have a police lieutenant we work with to make sure surrounding precincts are aware that it's a city-sponsored program and the artists have permits," Brad Dick, who oversees the City Walls program, said. "Unfortunately, some random officers who weren't associated with the nearby precincts drove by and saw him and thought it was an unauthorized action. They stopped him and he didn't have his permit with him."
Dick added that police had stopped other artists in the program in the past and that they plan to give artists identifying lanyards to wear while working on their murals going forward.
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