T.I. arrest: Security guard felt 'threatened' by rapper seeking entry to gated community

Jayme Deerwester | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Rapper T.I. was arrested trying to get into his home T.I. was arrested Wednesday while trying to get inside his own home in a gated community in Georgia.

The security guard whose argument with T.I. led to the rapper's arrest early Wednesday morning, told a 911 dispatcher that he felt "threatened."

In a 10-minute phone call, Eagles Landing Country Club guard Euwan James told a 911 dispatcher early Wednesday that a resident kept asking for his name and knocking on the guard shack door. The security guard acknowledged during the call he did not recognize the resident, who was identified as Clifford Harris, better known as T.I.

T.I. had lost his key and the guard wouldn’t let him into the neighborhood, said Henry County Deputy Police Chief Mike Ireland. The rapper was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct, public drunkenness and simple assault and then released on bail.

A police report says the dispatcher heard T.I. yelling through the phone at James. The security guard claims he eventually let T.I. inside the neighborhood.

James says the rapper drove home, then returned and said “Come outside so we can deal with this man to man.”

The 37-year-old rapper was booked and released after posting $2,250 bail.

His attorney, Steve Sadow, released a statement to Atlanta NBC affiliate 11Alive saying the rapper was "wrongfully arrested." He also noted T.I. clearly identified himself and phoned his wife, who confirmed his identity to the security guard, whom he had to wake up from a sound sleep.

"The guard continued to refuse entry without justification," Sadow said. "Words were exchanged and apparently, the guard and/or a supervisor called the police. When the police arrived, they were not interested in hearing Tip's side of the story and wrongfully chose to end the situation by arresting Tip." Tip is the rapper's nickname.

Aside from being a rapper and actor, T.I. is a social activist. Last year, he used his star power to fuel a boycott of the Houston's restaurant chain after allegations of racial discrimination. He also has spoken out on behalf of student walkouts after February's Parkland High School shooting in Florida.

The rapper has served time in the past. In 2009, he spent seven months in a federal prison in Arkansas after a gun-related arrest two years earlier. The next year, he was sent back to jail for 10 months after violating his parole with a drug arrest in Los Angeles.

T.I., a three-time Grammy Award winner, is one of the biggest figures in hip-hop, with multiple platinum-selling albums and singles, production credits and roles in films like Ant-Man, ATL and American Gangster.

Contributing: Kristen Reed, WXIA-11; The Associated Press