‘I’m Rick James, b----!’ Florida man goes on a superfreaky rampage in front of cops
Rick James may have died in 2004, but apparently he still has some big-time fans.
At least one man in Florida thinks the “Superfreak” singer was important enough to reference in present day during a confrontation with cops.
According to a police report from the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Paul Kijek was drinking heavily at the Back Bar in St. Petersburg early Sunday morning. Bystanders called cops on the 50-year-old patron a taxi “due to his level of intoxication.”
When officers arrived around 4 a.m., they called Kijek a cab, which he initially entered. As the car was pulling out of the bar’s parking lot, the suspect became belligerent, punching the driver in the face with a “closed fist,” then jumping out of the car, the complaint read.
Now out of the vehicle, Kijek began “dancing in the street yelling and screaming obscenities including, “Yo, mother------s, I’m Rick James, b----!” He was using a catchphrase made popular from TV’s “The Chapelle Show,” when Dave Chappelle impersonated the iconic music star. It’s now a saying still widely uttered when someone’s trying to be a wiseguy.
Kijek was charged with battery and disorderly intoxication. He was released hours later from the Pinellas County jail after posting a $600 bond.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 11:08 AM.
