Rapper Afroman — whose real name is Joseph Foreman— won a lawsuit against the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio after deputies raided his home in 2022, and he turned the footage into music videos titled “Will You Help Me Repair My Door” and “Lemon Pound Cake.” The officers sued him for using their likenesses without permission. A jury deliberated for six hours and ruled in Afroman’s favor.
The internet, naturally, erupted.
Angry calls flooded in. Emails poured through. Social media lit up with colorful language and creative insults aimed at the Adams County Sheriff’s Office.
One problem: a lot of those messages landed in Pennsylvania.
Sheriff Joshua Fitting of Adams County, Pennsylvania — a completely different state, for anyone keeping score — posted a public service announcement on his department’s official page: “News update: We did not…arrest rapper Afroman.”
The Geography Problem No One Checked
There are fourteen Adams County sheriffs in the United States. Fourteen. Pennsylvania has one. Ohio has one. Colorado has one. So does Mississippi, Iowa, Indiana, Illinois, Idaho, Wisconsin, Washington, Nebraska, North Dakota, and Colorado.
When the Afroman verdict hit the news cycle, outrage bypassed basic map-reading skills. Fitting’s office received calls “with accents from around the country” — his words — demanding accountability for a raid that happened 400 miles west.
The Adams County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado posted a video on social media with a map highlighting their location and then Ohio’s, captioned: “This is us. This is not us.” They weren’t taking chances either.
What Actually Happened in Ohio
In August 2022, deputies from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio raided Afroman’s home. They didn’t find what they were looking for — whatever that was remains vague — but they did provide Afroman with security camera footage of the raid. He used it in two music videos. The officers sued, claiming he profited off their images without consent.
The trial started on March 16, 2026. Three days later, the jury sided with Afroman.
The officers’ lawsuit hinged on the idea that Afroman had violated their privacy by using footage from a raid they conducted on his property. The jury didn’t buy it.
The Aftermath: Misdirected Rage
Sheriff Fitting’s post carried a tone of weary amusement: “While we love all the calls and the colorful language with accents from around the county, I assure you it wasn’t this Adams County.”
He added, “We ask you to please verify the state before you call, voicing your frustration that our deputies arrested AfroMan. As always, our commitment is to the community, transparency, and sometimes a little humor.”
The post’s comments section is filled with people apologizing, laughing, and — in a few cases — still not understanding the difference between Pennsylvania and Ohio.
The Lesson No One Will Learn
Geography isn’t optional. Neither is reading past the headline. But outrage moves faster than fact-checking, and social media rewards speed over accuracy.
Fourteen Adams Counties. One viral lawsuit. Zero chance this stops happening the next time someone gets mad online.
Sheriff Fitting will probably get more calls next week about something that happened in Iowa.
Photo Courtesy of WCPO/YouTube