RIHANNA's Selfie Gone Wrong Autographed Phone Heads to GRAMMY Museum

Whoops!A courtside selfie gone wronghasturnedinto a successful charitable gesturefor the Los Angeles Police Foundation thanks to Rihanna.

After donning an LAPD wristband at the request of Los Angeles Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff, thesinger was snapping a selfie with him whenshe dropped and cracked his phone. Two days later,Soboroff saw Rihannacourtsideagain and told her of his plans to auctionthe phoneto raise money for the Los Angeles Police Department.Rihanna signed the back of his phone, "Sorry! I (heart) LAPD. Rihanna."

In the days since,Rihannatweeted her apologyout to her 35 millionTwitterfollowers and pledged $25,000to the Los Angeles Police Foundation. Her gift was thengenerouslymatched by Pattiand Steve Soboroff. In addition,Soboroff placed the autographed phone on eBay where biddingstartedat $250. Hopesofraisingat least $10,000were wildly surpassedwhen the last of 116 bids camein at $66,500. That bidder, as it turns out, was not qualified, and the bid price was quickly matched by a private donor who required anonymity. Half of the proceeds will go to theLos Angeles Police Foundation for theLAPDCadetsand the other half will go tothe Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation to support the families of fallen officers.

Soboroffstated,"On behalf of the Cadets and the Los Angeles Police Memorial Foundation, I am delighted that Rihanna's wonderful gesture of donating $25,000 plusherauthorizing the sale of the "selfie phone" resulted in the anonymous buyer turning around and donatingthe world's most famous selfie phone to The GRAMMY Museum for display to the public!"

"It's not often that we are able to obtain an artifact so quickly after it makes headlines," said Rita George, deputy executive director of The GRAMMY Museum. "We're excited to welcome this interesting piece of pop culture into our permanent collection here at The GRAMMY Museum and we are even more excited to show our support for the Los Angeles Police Department and the great work that they do."

"I amthrilledto acknowledge and thank the donorsfor their generous contributionstotaling $116,500for the LAPDCadet Program and the families of fallen/wounded officers," saidCecilia Glassman,executivedirectorof theLos Angeles Police Foundation.

About the Los Angeles Police Foundation

The Los Angeles Police Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit organization that provides critical resources and vital support to the Los Angeles Police Department. From essential equipment and state-of-the-art technology to specialized training and innovative programs that would otherwise be unfunded, the support it provides directly improves public safety, impacts officer readiness, and enhances our quality of life. As the largest source of private funding for the LAPD, the LAPF is passionately dedicated to ensuring that Los Angeles remains America's safest major city.

Since its founding in1998, the LAPF has awarded more than$21million in grants to the LAPD. For more information on the Los Angeles Police Foundation, visitwww.lapolicefoundation.org.

SOURCE Los Angeles Police Foundation

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