Rapper Vic Mensa to give away sneakers where Chicago cops planted a bait truck

By Kia Morgan-Smith

·August 21, 2018

CHICAGO, IL - AUGUST 04: Vic Mensa attends Lucky Brand Presents City Jam 2018 at SPiN Chicago on August 4, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Robin Marchant/Getty Images for Lucky Brand)

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After Chicago police were called out for reportedly planting a bait truck in a low-income neighborhood to lure kids to steal high-priced footwear, rapper Vic Mensa teamed up to give away thousands of shoes, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

“We wanted to do something in response, but have a positive response,” Laundi Keepseagle, the executive director of Vic Mensa’s SaveMoneySaveLife foundation, said Thursday.

“We don’t want to create conflict with the police, but we do want to take a step forward, and just showcase that acts like that aren’t acceptable in communities that we care for.”

Community activists were outraged after a video surfaced that showed police staged near a truck filled with pricey Nike Air Force 1 sneakers. The truck was left open in an effort to lure would-be thieves with the bait tactic in a low-income, predominately Black area.

The truck not only had the fancy footwear inside but also Christian Louboutin “red bottom” shoes that are highly sought after by rappers and other celebrities.

Activists confronted the officers and took them to task about parking the bait truck in the hood with the goal of entrapping poor kids.

A Call to Action

Vic Mensa plans to give back to kids in the same neighborhoods where the bait trucks were left with an “anti-bait truck” Keepseagle said.

The giveaway will be a part of a larger back-to-school event and will include food trucks. The date of the event will be released after the foundation receives the shoes, Keepseagle said. The foundation is looking to collect 5,000 shoes and has reached out to shoe companies and athletes for donations.

Activist Shaun King also helped to promote the anti-bait truck drive.

Last week the Chicago Police set up a bait trap by putting a truck full of tennis shoes in the hood then arresting any kids who took a pair.

So – let’s buy THOUSANDS of shoes for every kid in Chicago who needs a pair.

ORDER TONIGHT @ https://t.co/aNWxI4MijJ pic.twitter.com/GUWp7WvOTq

— Shaun King (@shaunking) August 16, 2018

“Last week the Chicago Police set up a bait trap by putting a truck full of tennis shoes in the hood then arresting any kids who took a pair. So – let’s buy THOUSANDS of shoes for every kid in Chicago who needs a pair,” King wrote on Twitter.