New Orleans hip hopper Juvenile has won his fight against a lawsuit alleging that he was responsible for injuring an off duty police officer when she tried to break up a fight at the Regency Square Mall in Florida back in July 1999. A jury of six ruled in favour of the rapper, real name Terius Gray, deciding that he was not responsible for the injury incurred by the policewoman, Melissa Huxley-Bujeda.
The brawl broke out, according to the lawsuit, because Juvenile and some friends were asked to leave the mall because they were violating its dress and language codes, and Huxley-Bujeda was called to issue a trespass warning. It was during an ensuing scuffle, the suit attests, that the officer was injured. Huxley-Bujeda filed the suit four years after the incident, stating that four operations on her knee had followed the injury, costing her $68,635 in medical bills.
Juvenile's legal team responded that the policewoman suffered from degenerative arthritis and had hurt her knees around 35 times during her childhood whilst engaging in sporting activity. Huxley-Bujeda's lawyer, Fred Abbott, explained that all prior injuries were to her right knee, and it was her left knee that was the subject of the suit, but to no avail. Abbot, who says he will appeal the decision, is quoted as saying: "It was a travesty of justice. One day justice will prevail."
Juvenile, meanwhile, was jubilant at the decision, telling reporters: "We got them, we got them, we got them. Just the fact that it's a rap artist against the police, that never happens. Rappers never win. We never win against the police or the government."