Former NYPD Chief Reveals once was Building A Case Pop Smoke

Pop Smoke’s death in February 2020 halted a major gang investigation, according to a former NYPD police chief. The rapper’s murder during a home invasion in Los Angeles caused the NYPD to pause their probe into Brooklyn crews. Despite Pop Smoke’s rising music career, investigators had little personal information on him. The NYPD had attempted to leverage a 2019 arrest of Pop Smoke for transporting a stolen car as a potential opportunity. The rapper’s influence in the streets at a critical moment in New York’s gang landscape was of interest to law enforcement.