Police video released of Justin Bieber urinating
Posted March 6, 2014 12:49 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The Florida State Attorney’s office released new jail surveillance video on Thursday of some of the 10 hours pop star Justin Bieber was in custody after his arrest in Miami Beach in January.
A judge on Tuesday ruled that video images of a partially-clad Bieber can be released, but only after blocking out his genitals.
The video clips included Bieber providing a urine sample for a drug test following his arrest by police in Miami Beach on January 23 on a charge of driving under the influence.
Watch the below video obtained by TMZ.com.
Lawyers for Bieber, who turned 20 on March 1, had argued that the police surveillance video showing him urinating was inappropriate and should be withheld to protect the Canadian singer’s privacy.
The judge noted that what was at stake was the public access to evidence in court cases, not the media’s First Amendment right to free speech under the U.S. Constitution.
Bieber was charged with driving under influence, resisting arrest and using an expired licence after police say they caught him allegedly drag racing. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Besides a small amount of alcohol, he had marijuana and prescription medication for anxiety in his system at the time of his arrest, according to prosecutors.
After Bieber’s arrest, lawyers for the Miami Herald, CBS, the Associated Press and other media filed motions demanding all the video be released under Florida’s broad public records law.
Reuters is not a party to the case.
Under Florida law, all evidence including photos and videos became public record once they are handed to the defence.
Three of the clips were released without being altered while two others were withheld until technicians could obscure Bieber’s genitals, the judge ruled.
Last week, prosecutors released to the media several hours of video surveillance footage of Bieber while he was in police custody, showing him being frisked, chatting with police, and doing push-ups in a holding cell. But clips of him giving the urine sample were withheld for review by the judge.
The pop star’s private life has taken a seemingly tumultuous turn in the past year. Last month he was charged with assaulting a limousine driver in Toronto.
