Video Surfaces of Jeffrey Wright Being (Needlessly?) Tasered by Cops
Filed under: Celebrities and Controversy, Celebrities Gone Wild!
Technically, the news here is that the charges against W. stars Josh Brolin and Jeffrey Wright -- who were arrested last July at a Shreveport, La., bar for interfering with the arrest of another crew member -- are being dropped. A Shreveport City Court spokesperson told E! News that Brolin, Wright, and five others arrested at the same time are on what's called "district attorney's probation," meaning that as long as they stay out of trouble between now and their next court date, in March, all the charges against them will officially be dropped at that time. Accounts of what happened at the bar that night vary wildly, but apparently the film's cast and crew were celebrating the end of shooting, things got rowdy, the cops were called, and a W. crew member, Eric Felland, got arrested. Wright and Brolin tried to talk the cops out of it, and they got arrested, too. A round of arrests for everyone! On the house!
But that's not all. In the process, Brolin was pepper-sprayed and Wright was Tasered. Now video footage of this has shown up, hosted at the sleazy-but-occasionally-useful TMZ.com. (We can't embed it, but you can watch it here.) In the video, you can see a post-spraying Brolin, now mellow and subdued, still trying to talk the cops into letting everyone go, and being handcuffed. Meanwhile, out in the street, Wright -- who appears to already be handcuffed -- is on the ground, being Tasered repeatedly for the duration of the video. What possible reason the police could have for Tasering a suspect who's already restrained and behaving calmly, I cannot imagine. No doubt "you weren't there, you don't know what happened" will be cited as justification for it.
Brolin said months ago that the cops "immediately resorted to violence" and that their actions were completely out of proportion to the situation. Whether any legal action will be pursued, or whether the W. group is just glad to have it over with (or whether Oliver Stone will make a film detailing his conspiracy theories on the subject), remains to be seen.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-06-2009 @ 7:26PM
DylanG said...
Sadly cops can get away with this sort of stuff very easily. Anyone who has run into the police knows that they pretty much do as they please, and that unless something like this video surfaces, there isn't anything you can do about it.
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1-06-2009 @ 7:40PM
MCW said...
This is the one time that a cell phone camera has been useful. Fire them all.
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1-06-2009 @ 8:03PM
FourKings said...
Bummer that the only news I've heard about Jeffrey Wright in a while is that he is being arrested / tasered. One of my favorite actors; doesn't get nearly enough screen time.
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1-06-2009 @ 8:26PM
Mr_A said...
I don't agree with the first comment that the idea that cops in general just do as they please, that's just unsubstantiated opinions. Usually people who make claims like that and infer that if you've had run ins, you would know this... they usually had it coming to them. It really is quite easy to not have run-ins with police, ever.
That aside, this video IS quite appalling. I wouldn't deny the idea that there are crooked cops out there, but the assumption that they are all that way is, well, just plain retarded.
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1-06-2009 @ 8:40PM
MCW said...
Too few are caught on camera, is the problem. It's probably a good idea to turn your camera on whenever confronted or when talking to a policeman, as you are likely to get tased... bro. They love the flipping taser.
1-06-2009 @ 9:28PM
DylanG said...
It's not unsubstantiated opinions. I speak from experience, as a police officer said he would "get me in big trouble" for something that he admitted wasn't illegal or against the law in anyway. Family members have also had multiple encounters where police harassed them, and if my experiences aren't enough to convince you, do a little bit of research into the "Cherry Beach Beatdowns", which happened where I live. Basically, in Toronto, the police would take drunks down to the beach and beat the daylights out of them.
It has nothing to do with avoiding the police or what people have coming. Police officers are supposed to uphold the law, but they have the power to do as they please. Are all police like that? No, I wouldn't say so. But do all of them have the power to do this? Yes. Essentially, they all do as they please. Some like to uphold the law, others don't. Imagine how many times stuff shown in this video happens when no ones recording. What do you think happens? Nothing. The police can get away with this stuff most of the time.
1-06-2009 @ 10:28PM
maestro610 said...
I have a difficult conflict when it comes to the police and the way they treat people. I grew up in a place known for crime but currently live in the suburbs. I am black and for a long time I got pulled over all the time when I moved here. I also have an uncle who is a police officer, he's dominican but when he drove in my neighborhood he had the same issues my family did until they learned he was on the job.
I've never ever had anything like this go down as I don't even really speed, but I know from stories my uncle tells me that to be a cop in the suburbs you are expected to pull over unrecognized faces... There was a police shooting in my town recently... the first in quite a long time. The officer said he feared for his life but the video is inconclusive. After seeing it myself I came to the conclusion that the stop may not have been warranted but the action taken was understandable. That officer's life was in jeopardy although it began as a check and see, "fishing", situation.
This video, regarding Brolin and Wright, is one of the absolute worst things I've ever seen in American law enforcement. We have two men pepper sprayed and non-combative, who are subsequently arrested for asking an officer to release someone. Then we have officers repeatedly shocking someone with a tazer. A defenseless man. They should be prosecuted and sued, and I mean all officers involved from the female officer on crowd control to the one forcing Brolin to kneel and especially the crowd surrounding, shocking and holding down Wright.
Each and every one of these officers would better serve the people of Shreveport in another profession.
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1-07-2009 @ 9:23AM
Kevin said...
The vast majority of police officers in this country are honest people who get the job because they truly want to help people. I really believe that, which is why I found it so shocking that when a regular cop sees treatment like this they all will try and justify it by saying that the people had it coming, or that the job is dangerous, what have you. Police are there to uphold the law, not respond in kind. If a suspect is aggressive or angry that doesn't give cops the right to be aggressive and abusive back. Do what is necessary to arrest the people that you're going to arrest, but don't take it overboard. When people are handcuffed and cooperating what is the point of yanking them around, or tazing them while they're lying on the ground? The only reason to behave like that is to demonstrate that you are in control and have all the power. I"m sure that makes the cops feel big and tough, but thats not their purpose in society. These types of situations are the reason why ALL cops have such bad reputations, which is really a shame because, like I said, most cops are doing what they're supposed to be doing.
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1-07-2009 @ 11:17AM
eff-the-police said...
all cops are pigs
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1-07-2009 @ 12:10PM
khia213 said...
You must not have seen the video from Oakland, CA. this week. The police shot a handcuffed man, who was lying face down on the ground. There's no struggle. He's subdued. cop calmly drwas his gun and kills the man. What Jeffery Wright got was awful, but at least he's still alive.
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1-14-2009 @ 1:44PM
Kevin said...
Heres a link to the video. Pretty disturbing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYoZgzxd77g