Police bodycam footage of Justin Timberlake’s 2024 arrest for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in the Hamptons in Long Island, N.Y., has been released after his unsuccessful attempt earlier this month to prevent it from becoming public.
The 45-year-old pop star struggled to perform field sobriety tests requiring him to walk a straight line and stand on one leg after he was pulled over in New York’s Hamptons in 2024 by police officers who suspected him of driving drunk, according to video footage released by police and published by The Associated Press and several other outlets.
The footage, which runs roughly eight hours, includes Timberlake’s initial stop after Sag Harbor police said he ran a stop sign and veered out of his lane and got out of his BMW smelling of alcohol that June.
Timberlake tells officers in the footage that he had consumed one martini and had been following friends home.
When an officer asks why he is in town, Timberlake says, “I’m on a world tour.”
The officer asks, “Doing what?”
“Hard to explain,” Timberlake responds, before adding, “World tour. I’m Justin Timberlake.”
“You are Justin Timberlake? Do you have a licence with you?” the officer asks.
Timberlake, who resolved the case with a plea deal in September 2024 after pleading guilty to a lesser charge of a non-criminal traffic violation of driving while impaired, is then asked to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line on the road and lift one leg.
He apologizes to officers and tells them his heart is racing after he’s asked to complete the tasks.
“I’m a little nervous,” Timberlake says at one point.
Once Timberlake is placed in the back seat of the police car, he asks: “Why are you arresting me?”
When Timberlake arrives at the police station, he is informed that he will be held overnight.
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“I’m going to be here all night? You guys are wild, man,” he says to the officers.
“You boys treat me like I’m a criminal,” Timberlake says elsewhere in the bodycam footage to two officers back at the police station.
Timberlake then asks the officer to keep the light on in the cell as they lock the door.
The released footage from Sag Harbor police comes after Timberlake’s lawyers agreed to disclose a redacted version of the footage.
Sag Harbor officials, in a statement provided to The Associated Press by the village of Sag Harbor’s lawyer, Vincent Toomey, said they are pleased the matter was resolved and they were able to comply with state public records law.
“From the beginning of this matter, after Mr. Timberlake’s arrest, the Village has attempted to comply with the mandates of the Freedom of Information Law,” the statement reads. “As would be true in any case involving records or video footage from our Police Department, such material is reviewed and redacted to address public and officer safety concerns as well as personal privacy considerations.”
Timberlake’s lawyers argued in a lawsuit filed earlier this month in Suffolk County Supreme Court against the village of Sag Harbor and its police department that release of the video would “devastate” Timberlake’s privacy by revealing “intimate, highly personal, and sensitive details.”
They also said it would cause “severe and irreparable harm” to his reputation by subjecting him to “public ridicule and harassment.”
“The footage at issue depicts Petitioner in an acutely vulnerable state during a roadside encounter with law enforcement, capturing intimate details of Petitioner’s physical appearance, demeanor, speech, and conduct during field sobriety testing, the subsequent arrest, and Petitioner’s confinement following arrest over the next several hours,” the lawsuit read.
In their suit, Timberlake’s lawyers say they were notified that village of Sag Harbor officials intended to release some of the footage, with certain redactions, to comply with public records requests under the Freedom of Information Law.
Timberlake’s legal team previously said the release of the footage would reveal “information of medical, familial, otherwise confidential nature that is not necessary to inform the public about governmental operations of the performance of official duties.”
Timberlake’s lawyers requested the court “enter an emergency stay prohibiting disclosure” of the footage from his arrest. They also requested that Timberlake and the court have the opportunity to “review the body-worn camera footage with proposed redactions to assess the privacy interests.”
Timberlake’s lawyer Edward D. Burke Jr. told E! News the Bye Bye Bye singer sought a “temporary restraining order” and a “preliminary injunction” to prevent the release of bodycam footage.
“A conference was held in Supreme Court, County of Suffolk yesterday before Justice Joseph Farneti. Special counsel for the Village and Mr. Timberlake’s attorneys appeared before the Court. The Court took no formal action on the matter yesterday in order to allow the parties to confer on a potential resolution of the matter and for the Village to respond to the lawsuit,” the lawyer said in a statement on March 3.
Timberlake was arrested on June 18, 2024, when police said he ran a stop sign and veered out of his lane.
“His eyes were bloodshot and glassy, a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage was emanating from his breath, he was unable to divide attention, he had slowed speech, he was unsteady afoot and he performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests,” the court papers said.
Further court documents alleged Timberlake refused a breathalyzer test once they arrived at the station.
Burke has maintained that Timberlake was not drunk and that the case should be dropped.
“The facts remain he was not intoxicated,” Burke said. “I’ll say it again: Justin Timberlake was not intoxicated and we’re very confident that charge, that criminal charge, will be dismissed.”
At the time of his arrest, the Mirrors singer told authorities he drank only one martini and that he’d been following some friends home in his car.
Timberlake later pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in his drunk driving case in September 2024 and he was ordered to pay a US$500 (about C$680) fine with a US$260 (C$350) surcharge and to complete 25 hours of community service at the non-profit of his choosing. The judge also required the former boy band member to make a public safety announcement.
During the trial, Timberlake expressed regret for his actions.
“I did not live up to the standards that I try to hold for myself,” he told the court.
The singer said he’s since had time to reflect on his behaviour and understands the strain his trial has put on Sag Harbor.
Timberlake also said he comprehends the “seriousness” of driving under the influence and will make “better decisions” going forward.
Outside the courthouse, Timberlake told the crowd, “What I’d like to say to everyone watching and listening is even if you’ve had one drink, don’t get behind the wheel of a car.”
“There’s so many alternatives. You can call a friend. Take an Uber. There’s many travel apps. Take a taxi,” he encouraged. “This is a mistake that I made, but I’m hoping that whoever is watching and listening right now can learn from this mistake. I know that I certainly have.”
— with files from The Associated Press
