The former New Orleans police officer who saved Lil Wayne after a suicide attempt at age 12 has revealed that the famous rapper offered to help him financially when they reconnected in recent years, TMZ reports.
Ex-cop Robert Hoobler, 68, called “Uncle Bob” by Lil Wayne, said he has not taken him up on the offer, but has talked about joining Wayne’s team in an administrative role.
The “Lollipop” rapper, 38, whose real name is Dwayne Carter Jr., was 12 years old when he shot himself in the chest on Nov. 11, 1994 in an attempt to end his own life. Wayne previously spoke of the incident as an accident, but revealed in 2018 that he shot himself on purpose with his mother’s gun; he was distraught because his aunt told him his mom wouldn’t let him continue rapping after finding out he skipped school.
Reports vary as to whether Wayne called 911 before or after he shot himself. Hoobler, who was off-duty at the time, responded with other officers when he heard the emergency broadcast of Wayne’s 911 call, NOLA.com reported.
According to Wayne on a recent episode of the “Uncomfortable Conversations” podcast with Emmanuel Acho (via The Daily Mail), while other officers saw his bleeding body and began searching the house for drugs and weapons, Hoobler immediately helped him.
“He kept saying, ‘Do you not see the f***ing baby on the ground with a hole in his chest?’ He was screaming at them… and he must’ve been the boss because they all came in the room and was like, ‘Oh sorry boss, we called the ambulance’ and he was like, ‘I don’t give a f**k.'”
NOLA.com reported that no ambulance was available and Hoobler carried Wayne into a police car and held him on his lap in the backseat, speaking to him the entire time as officers drove him to the hospital. The decision to drive him to the hospital as opposed to waiting for an available ambulance is credited with saving Wayne’s life.
Hoobler told TMZ he’s been in touch with Wayne over the years. Wayne released a track in 2015 called “London Roads” in which he rapped about his belief that Hoobler had passed away: “I remember goin’ in your gun drawer, puttin’ it to my chest and missin’ my heart by centimeters; I remember dyin’ on her room floor and wakin’ up in some police’s arms; he died recent, so I hope heaven made more room for him.”
Hoober reached out to Wayne that year to let him know he was still alive. According to Hoobler, Wayne was ready to pay for his funeral.
Then, in 2019, Hoobler and Wayne ran into each other in New Orleans when the rapper was in town for a radio show. Hoobler says this is when Wayne offered him financial support whenever he needs it.
Hoobler’s police career is not without controversy. In 2012, he was fired from his position as a sheriff’s deputy in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana after repeatedly tasing a man during an arrest.