Eminem Avoids Charges in Fight With Niece  10/11/06

Police in Detroit, Michigan will not press charges against rapper Eminem regarding an incident last month (SEP06) involving his niece.

Tempers flared between the rapper, real name Marshall Mathers, and his niece at the Macomb Township home of his estranged wife, prompting a police investigation on 24 September (06).

According to a police report, Eminem tapped his niece, the daughter of estranged wife Kim Mathers' sister, on the head for hanging up the telephone on him.

Sheriff Mark Hackel said of the 13-year-old girl, "There was no indication she was harmed or hurt in any way."

According to reports from the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, Eminem went to his estranged wife's home after getting into an argument with his niece, whom he is a legal guardian of.

To get her attention while at the home, he tapped her on the side of the head, Hackel said.

In the reports, Eminem's niece claimed he threatened to kill her and that after "poking me in the head" he appeared to raise his hand as if to strike her.

Eminem has denied the threat and said the two were arguing over the girl's school clothing.

After the rapper left the home, his niece told her grandmother about the incident, who then called her daughter, Kim Mathers.

She called police to file a domestic violence claim, which was not pursued after an investigation by the Sheriff's Office and Macomb County prosecutors.