He described Pop Smoke as a charismatic new drive in New York drill. Born Bashar Barakah Jackson, he lived in Canarsie and was allegedly near neighborhood crews. According to Chell, the rapper was “down with the G-Stone Crips… a big crew,” and his sudden rise drew consideration because the NYPD investigated the group.

“He’s the upcoming star, if you will, and we were into that gang, and he was part of it, but we didn’t have much on Pop,” mentioned Chell.

Chell mentioned the division’s predominant leverage level got here from the rapper’s high-profile 2019 case involving a Rolls-Royce Wraith.

“What Pop did was he had stole a Rolls Royce from, I think it was L.A., and brought it back to Canarsie,” he recalled. “And we made arrest and we tried to leverage that.”

Former NYPD Chief John Chell Reveals Police Were Building A Case On Pop Smoke Before He Passed

He defined that these techniques are sometimes used when officers consider a rising artist remains to be connected to avenue alliances. “You might be running with the gang guys, and they’re your friends,” Chell mentioned. “But you got a lot more to lose. You got millions, you’re a rising star.”

But earlier than the NYPD may advance its bigger investigation, information broke that Pop Smoke had been killed throughout a February 2020 home invasion in Los Angeles.

“As we were cultivating this whole gang case, I believe he got murdered in a home invasion in L.A. That was Pop,” Chell mentioned, pausing to acknowledge the gravity of the loss. He added that Pop Smoke had “a very distinct sound — didn’t he? It really was.”

Chell mentioned the aftermath continued to form Canarsie for years.

“So years after that, there was always a Pop Smoke Day in Canarsie,” he defined. “We had to put a lot of cops there because a lot of gang members showing up. It got dangerous.”

His feedback supply a glimpse into the overlapping pressures of fame, loyalty, and police scrutiny that surrounded Pop Smoke’s rise. It continued lengthy after he was gone.