MC Hammer calls Bay Area arrest 'teachable moment,' 'eye opener'

MC Hammer might have tweeted harsh words about his arrest in the Bay Area last week, but he later called it a "teachable moment."

"Instead of being bitter, I'm taking the opportunity to make this a 'teachable moment' and 'eye opener' for my many friends & colleagues," Hammer, 50, wrote Saturday.

The rapper, whose real name is Stanley Burrell, unleashed a stream of tweets on Saturday criticizing the officer who arrested him in Dublin, Calif., and claiming he had been a victim of racial profiling.

The deputy, whom Hammer described as a “chubby elvis looking dude,” apparently angered the rapper, who rose to stardom in the 1990s with the hugely popular songs, “U Can’t Touch This” and “Too Legit to Quit,” by asking him if he was on parole or probation.

Hammer, who did not respond to a request for comment via Twitter, said the deputy then attempted to pull him from his car. “It was comical to me until he pulled out his guns, blew his whistle and yelled for help,” the performer tweeted.

Hammer tweeted that he was “insulted and humored” by the incident.

Alameda County sheriff's Lt. Herbert Walters confirmed Hammer was taken into custody at a gas station after police realized he was in a vehicle that had expired registration and that was not registered to him.

"Hammer became very argumentative when questioned about the vehicle," Walters said in an email to The Times. "He refused to exit the vehicle when the officer asked him to and continued to argue."

Hammer eventually exited the car on his own, Walters said, and was released from jail after being booked and posting bail.

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— Joel Rubin and Kate Mather