Before his untimely death, Pop Smoke reportedly refused to snitch on crip gang members for the NYPD.
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In a report by Complex, the NYPD used Pop Smoke’s legal issues as a way for him to snitch on crip gang members but he refused. In December 2019, they tried to get him to snitch after he was arrested for possessing a stolen Rolls Royce Wraith and questioned about a non-fatal June 2019 shooting in Brooklyn. They claimed there was footage of Pop Smoke driving a vehicle in reverse near the crime scene and believed he knew what led to the shooting.
Investigators also tried to pressure him about information pertaining to 823 Crips, GS9, and other Brooklyn-based street gangs but he refused to speak with them.
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Pop Smoke’s attorney Peter Frankel believes his client was being pressured due to a federal grand theft auto charge and it is rare for federal investigators to be involved in car theft cases.
“They hoped the force of the federal indictment would persuade him to cooperate — meet and speak with them. It’s not uncommon for the federal government to become involved in an investigation when they believe that doing so will help them in a way a state court prosecution may not be able to do”
In January, investigators tried to question the rapper again weeks before his death with no success. After refusing to cooperate, Pop Smoke posted a $250,000 bond and agreed to stay away from known gang members and submit mandatory drug tests as part of his pre-trial conditions.