Newly released police records and dashcam footage revealed details of singer Britney Spears’ March driving under the influence arrest on Friday in Los Angeles, including officers’ observations of her behaviour and the results of alcohol testing.
According to a California Highway Patrol report obtained by the Associated Press, Spears initially refused to leave her BMW for around 10 minutes after being stopped for speeding and swerving on US 101 near Ventura County on March 4.
Officers later reported that she smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated during field sobriety tests.
The report stated that “her speech was rapid and slurred, her gait was unsteady and she was fidgeting with her fingers”. Officers also wrote that her mood shifted “from confrontational and agitated to flamboyant and compliant”, adding that she at times appeared to speak with a British accent.
During the stop, Spears reportedly told officers, “I could probably drink four bottles of wine and take care of you, I’m an angel.”
However, the singer said she had consumed only one mimosa several hours earlier and rated her level of intoxication as “zero”. Breathalyser tests later recorded blood alcohol levels of 0.05 and 0.06, below California’s legal presumption threshold of 0.08.
Police also said an unprescribed bottle of Adderall was found in Spears’ handbag. She provided a blood sample for further drug testing, although those results were not included in the report.
Authorities said Spears initially declined to leave the vehicle because she feared harassment and did not want to step out on the highway. When officers suggested moving elsewhere, she reportedly invited them to her home, saying, “I’ll make you food or lasagna, whatever you want. I have a pool.”
Spears was later arrested, taken into custody and released on bail several hours afterwards. Soon after the incident, she voluntarily entered a rehabilitation facility.
On May 4, the singer pleaded guilty to a reduced reckless driving charge involving alcohol and drugs, avoiding additional jail time. Ventura County prosecutors said the agreement reflected standard treatment for first-time offenders where there had been no crash, injuries or significantly elevated blood alcohol levels.
Speaking after the hearing, Spears’ lawyer Michael Goldstein said, “I don’t think anybody’s happy about pleading guilty to anything, but under the circumstances, to get this behind her, I think everybody is pleased with the result.”
Britney Spears rose to international fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s with hit songs including ‘…Baby One More Time’, ‘Oops!… I Did It Again’ and ‘Toxic’. In recent years, her personal life and legal battles, including the end of her long-running conservatorship in 2021, have remained under intense public scrutiny.
