To paraphrase the extremely underrated Pop Will Eat Itself, Augusta, Georgia in late September and one Mr James Brown is hot tempered. The Godfather of Soul had been on a downward spiral during the 80s, a time that saw James Brown and PCP become very good friends, allegedly, and it all came to a head on September 24th 1988 when James Brown went Loco and ended up brandishing a firearm while being chased by the FBI.

James Brown and the law had been increasingly at odds during this time. In 1987, the year previous, he had been arrested on multiple occasions for assault, speeding, resisting arrest, and possession of PCP but on this day in 1988, he stepped up his game.

An incredibly wired James Brown burst into an office complex during an insurance seminar, waving a shotgun around and screaming that strangers were using a toilet in a building he owned. Someone in attendance called the police, as you would do under the circumstances, and James Brown jumped in this pickup truck, and drove off at high speed.

The resulting pursuit saw two Trooperschase James Brown across the Georgia state line, resulting in the FBI getting involved. James Brown, driving like something out of a heist movie and swerving around roadblocks, had his tires shot out in a parking lot, speeding away on the rims, before ending up slamming his truck into a ditch, finding himself handcuffed and in some very serious shit.

So serious, in fact, that he ended up with a six-year prision sentence for his troubles, but was it all as cut and dried as it seems?

There can be no doubt that James Brown was whacked out of his gourd, but both Brown and his then wife have gone on record stating that the reason he ran was because he was convinced that the police were trying to kill him.

Talking about the incident to the Reverend Al Sharpton, James Brown said:

“I never fired at them or even pointed a gun in their direction and they still shot at me, over and over.”

While an FBI report released in2007 stated that a policeman began kicking the vehicle door and hitting the vehicle with the butt of his gun. This resulted in a window being broken and because of this violence, Brown decided to remain in his vehicle which he then locked. Brown stated that he was in fear for his life.

A policeman then shot and hit Brown’s truck at least eight times and another policeman shot approximately nine times at the tires and hood. Brown later counted the bullet holes in his truck and these totalled 23. Two of the shots hit the gas tank and the tires were flat. Because of this onslaught, Brown became very afraid. Itbeas this fear, according to Brown, that had him start uphis vehicle and drive away on the flat tires, and what followed has become the stuff of folklore.

But what do you think? Did James Brown go on a very ill-advised PCP fueled Rampage or was there more to it, and were the police intent on making an example of The Godfather of Soul? Sound off in the comment section and let me know.