Bieber was ‘incoherent’ during arrest
Justin Bieber was charged with driving under the influence, resisting arrest and driving with an expired license after police caught him drag racing in Miami Beach early on Thursday morning.
Speaking at a press conference, Miami Beach Police Chief Raymond Martinez said that Bieber admitted to "smoking marijuana" and drinking a beer.
He added: "During the arrest Mr Bieber made statements that he had consumed alcohol and had been smoking marijuana and had consumed prescription medication."
Police said Bieber was racing a rented yellow Lamborghini against a Ferrari on a residential street when he was arrested shortly after 4am on Thursday morning.
> Read more: Bieber’s dad was present during drag race
Martinez revealed that Bieber was incoherent at the time of his arrest, and was unable to produce a valid driver’s license.
According to tweets posted by the Miami Beach Police department, the arresting officer "immediately smelt an odour of alcohol emanating from the driver’s breath" and noticed "bloodshot eyes" and he had "slow deliberate movement and a stupor look on his face" (sic).
According to BANG Showbiz, Bieber initially refused to exit the vehicle and resisted arrest without violence, and verbally abused the police officer who had stopped him, saying, "Why the f**k are you doing this?"
As the officer followed procedure and searched Bieber for weapons, the 19-year-old singer said: "I ain’t go no f***ing weapons. Why do you have to search me? What the f**k is this about?"
After refusing to face forward and place his hands on the bonnet of the car, the singer was arrested.
However, Martinez added that once Bieber had been taken to the Miami Dade county jail for finger prints and mug shots, he became co-operative. Police released two mug shots of Bieber – in which the teen icon is smiling and and slightly bleary-eyed in one and more serious in the other – as well as video footage of the arrest.
Bieber appeared in a Florida courtroom several hours later, wearing an orange prison jumpsuit, where a judge set his bail at $2500.
> Read more: Bieber ‘cried his eyes out’ after hearing
The star left the jail a short time later, sombrely waving to fans while sitting atop his vehicle.
According to Miami Beach police, Bieber was with a "young lady" in the vehicle at the time – although they refused to divulge her identity – and said they also arrested Bieber’s friend, rapper Khalil Amir Sharieff, and charged him with driving under the influence.
Sharieff had reportedly been driving the Ferrari that Bieber’s Lamborghini was racing against.
According to Martinez, police were hard-pressed to stop Bieber, given the speed at which he was travelling.
According to the police report, Bieber was driving at close to 95 km/h – around twice the posted speed on the residential street, which his crew had reportedly blocked off to create an improvised drag strip.
"When the cars are going that fast, it takes a while to catch up," said Martinez.
Bieber’s publicists told AFP they had no comment.
It’s the latest in a string of controversies the 19-year-old pop icon – who has sold over 12 million albums since debuting in 2009 – has faced in recent months.
Earlier this week, Bieber had reportedly shelled out around $75 000 during a visit to a Florida strip club, while last week police raided Bieber’s Los Angeles mansion in connection with an egg-throwing attack that reportedly caused thousands of dollars in damage to a neighbour’s house.
Police found illegal drugs at the mansion, and arrested one of the singer’s associates.
