Emmy Winner Arrested for Allegedly Assaulting Rideshare Driver
Kiefer Sutherland is no longer sitting in a Los Angeles county jail cell, but the two-time Emmy winner’s legal woes are just beginning following an alleged assault that took place in the early hours of Monday morning.
The New York Times reports that Sutherland, 59, was arrested shortly after midnight on Monday morning after LAPD responded to a call regarding a report of a physical altercation with a rideshare driver in Hollywood.
According to a police statement reviewed by the Times, “The investigation determined that Mr. Sutherland had entered a rideshare vehicle, physically assaulted the driver and made criminal threats toward the driver.” Though the victim did not sustain any injuries that required immediate medical assistance, Sutherland was arrested at the scene for making criminal threats against the victim, which is a violation of California Penal Code section 422, according to Variety.
The 24 star was booked into a nearby county jail, but didn’t stay long. He was released after posting a $50,000 bond. Sutherland will be back in front of a judge to answer for his alleged crimes on February 2nd.
Neither Sutherland nor his representatives have yet to comment publicly about the charges.
Has Kiefer Sutherland Ever Been Arrested Before?
Monday morning’s incident was not Sutherland’s first run-in with the law. Beginning back in the late 1980s, just as his star was rising, Sutherland faced a series of alcohol-related infractions, which continued well into the next two decades.
According to People Magazine, Sutherland’s first arrest came in 1989, when he was was arrested for driving under the influence and carrying a concealed and loaded weapon. The latter two charges were eventually dropped, and Sutherland pleaded no contest to one count of alcohol-related reckless driving.
In 1993, the son of acting legend Donald Sutherland was hit with another DUI, where he ended up performing more than 200 hours of community service (the alternative to a 12-day jail sentence). Between 2004 and 2007, Sutherland faced three more alcohol-related arrests and in 2007 was sentenced to 48 days in jail.
In 2009, Sutherland was facing assault charges for the first time when he reportedly head-butted fashion designer Jack McCollough at a New York City nightclub. A few weeks after the alleged incident, the charges against Sutherland were dropped and the two released a joint statement, via the actor’s lawyer, in which the Stand By Me star apologized.
What Has Kiefer Sutherland Said Publicly About His Drinking?
In 2016, Sutherland tried his hand at songmaking when he released the tune “Can’t Stay Away.”
With lyrics such as “Got me wrapped around your finger / Pulling strings to play my heart / You fill the night with conversation / That turn the daylight dark,” fans initially believed the song was about a romantic relationship. But Sutherland shared on The Jess Cagle Interview podcast that the partner in question was booze.
“I was never the guy, if something was wrong in my life or something wasn’t right, I didn’t go drown my sorrows,” the actor, who was then starring in his first season of Designated Survivor, said. “One of the things I love to do is go out with my friends and tell stories and have a bunch of drinks. That’s true.”
“Having said that,” Sutherland added, “I can also look back on my life and tell you very squarely that the only bad things that have ever happened to me in my life have been because I like to go to bars and have drinks with my friends. I would be lying if I told you that there weren’t moments where I felt I let it get away from me. So it’s kind of been a push and pull through my life.”
While Monday’s incident was the actor’s first known brush with the law in well over a decade, how it proceeds from here is still a question mark.