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Fans who attended Drake's debut performance at The Apollo theater were confused when they were greeted by a police officer with a camera after they left the venue at the end of the night. However, the NYPD asserts the recordings are harmless.
According to a statement made to Consequence of Sound on Monday, January 23, the NYPD police officer who was seen recording fans as they left the show was only a Community Affairs officer from the 28th precinct's social media team. His goal was to capture video for a future post and nothing more.
“The officer depicted in the video is a Community Affairs officer involved with the 28th Precinct’s social media team," a spokesperson for the Office of the Deputy Commissioner, Public Information said. "The officer was taking video for an upcoming Twitter post that will highlight local community events. The video will not be utilized for any other reason.”
Questions about the officer's intentions began to rise after New York Times journalist Jon Caramanica posted a video of the officer in uniform recording fans exiting the building on Saturday night. While the video prompted some people to thinking the NYPD were spying on Drake's fans, sources told TMZ that the officer has no affiliation with the detective bureau and does not investigate crimes. The NYPD's intentions for capturing video at the end of the event are to show people how the NYPD works with the venue's security to ensure everyone's safety.
The NYPD's presence wasn't the only questionable event that happened at the show. Towards the end of Drake's final night at the Apollo, a fan fell over the edge of the second floor balcony and landed in the middle of the crowd below. Drake halted the concert for about 15 minutes while officials tended to the fan an those who were affected by the fall around him. Once the venue announced that everyone was ok, Drake returned to the stage and continued the show.