NYPD Was Building Case On Pop Smoke Before Death, Former Chief. John Chell Says

Former NYPD Police Chief John Chell is offering one of the most detailed public explanations yet of how Pop Smoke became entangled in a wider gang investigation before his death.

Chell revealed new context during the Nov. 27 episode of The John Rondi Show. Chell, who retired in October 2025 after decades with the department, revisited several hip-hop–related cases from his tenure before turning to the late Brooklyn star.

“Now, a case I was personally involved in… So now, we’re going to go to 2019, 2020, Pop Smoke, who lived in Canarsie, Brooklyn,” Chell said as he opened the discussion.

He described Pop Smoke as a charismatic new force in New York drill. Born Bashar Barakah Jackson, he lived in Canarsie and was allegedly close to neighborhood crews. According to Chell, the rapper was “down with the G-Stone Crips… a big crew,” and his sudden rise drew attention as the NYPD investigated the group.

“He’s the upcoming star, if you will, and we were into that gang, and he was part of it, but we didn’t have much on Pop,” said Chell.

Chell said the department’s main leverage point came from the rapper’s high-profile 2019 case involving a Rolls-Royce Wraith.

“What Pop did was he had stole a Rolls Royce from, I think it was L.A., and brought it back to Canarsie,” he recalled. “And we made arrest and we tried to leverage that.”

Former NYPD Chief John Chell Reveals Police Were Building A Case On Pop Smoke Before He Passed

He explained that those tactics are often used when officers believe a rising artist is still attached to street alliances. “You might be running with the gang guys, and they’re your friends,” Chell said. “But you got a lot more to lose. You got millions, you’re a rising star.”

But before the NYPD could advance its larger investigation, news broke that Pop Smoke had been killed during a February 2020 home invasion in Los Angeles.

“As we were cultivating this whole gang case, I believe he got murdered in a home invasion in L.A. That was Pop,” Chell said, pausing to acknowledge the gravity of the loss. He added that Pop Smoke had “a very distinct sound — didn’t he? It really was.”

Chell said the aftermath continued to shape Canarsie for years.

“So years after that, there was always a Pop Smoke Day in Canarsie,” he explained. “We had to put a lot of cops there because a lot of gang members showing up. It got dangerous.”

His comments offer a glimpse into the overlapping pressures of fame, loyalty, and police scrutiny that surrounded Pop Smoke’s rise. It persisted long after he was gone.