A Day In Rock: October 29th, 2007 – Sheriff Uses Ozzy As Bait
On this day seventeen years ago… Police nabbed 40 accused petty criminals in a sting operation that involved Ozzy Osbourne. Without Ozzy’s prior knowledge, police invited people with outstanding warrants to a fake pre-show party that promised free tickets to Ozzy’s Fargo, ND concert.
Sheriff Paul Laney launched the sting operation. Ozzy insisted Laney apologize for using his name to secure the arrests.
“It’s insulting to me and to my audience,” says Osbourne. “It shows how lazy this particular sheriff is when it comes to doing his job.”
Laney said he “meant no disrespect toward Mr. Osbourne or his show,” but “what we did was a very creative law-enforcement technique to lure individuals who had active criminal warrants to come to us.”
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