November 4, 2007 11:01

Ozzy Osbourne objects to being police bait

Black Sabbath singer not happy at being used to catch criminals

Photo Gallery: Ozzy Osbourne

An American sheriff has upset Ozzy Osbourne after using the Black Sabbath singer in a scheme to catch criminals.

Sheriff Paul Laney invited 500 people with outstanding warrants to a fake party at a nightclub in Fargo, North Dakota, just ahead of the singer’s actual concert at a nearby arena on October 29.

Around 30 people showed up to the police sting and were arrested.
According to Canoe Jam!, Osbourne believes the operation has damaged his reputation and has complained about the police action in a statement.

"Instead of holding a press conference to pat himself on the back, Sheriff Laney should be apologising to me for using my name in connection with these arrests," he said "It is insulting to me and to my audience and it shows how lazy this particular sheriff is when it comes to doing his job."

The sheriff has since apologised to the singer explaining, "We meant no disrespect toward Mr Osbourne or his show. What we did was a very creative law enforcement technique to lure individuals who had active criminal warrants to come to us."

He added they had to use such techniques to keep up with the criminals: "They get very creative in how they abscond from the law. We just got real creative in how we reeled them in."