Artist News Legal

Wyclef Jean detained by police in case of mistaken identity

By | Published on Wednesday 22 March 2017

Wyclef Jean

Wyclef Jean was detained by police in LA yesterday after they apparently mistook him for a mugger. The LA County Sheriff’s office has since apologised to the musician.

Jean was stopped by police at a petrol station on Sunset Boulevard at around 1am, shortly after he had left a recording session, as they searched for an armed robber who had stolen a person’s wallet nearby. The suspect had been described as a black man wearing a red bandana, driving a car similar to Jean’s.

Posting a video of himself in handcuffs to Twitter, Jean says to the camera: “LA, right now, coming from the studio … Y’all see the police have handcuffs on me. They just took off my Haitian bandana. That’s what’s going on right now with Wyclef in LA right now. The LAPD have me in cuffs for absolutely nothing”. In a later video, he is also shown threatening to sue.

Tweeting about the incident, Jean wrote: “As someone who has law enforcers in my family, I was appalled by this behaviour of the LAPD. I am sure no father wants his sons or daughters to see him in handcuffs especially if he is innocent”.

He continued: “They proceeded to ignore me and I was treated like a criminal until other police showed up and pointed out they had wrong person. Nor was I told why I was being cuffed. In the process I said my name and told them they have wrong person. I was asked by the police to put my hands up. Then I was told do not move. I was instantly handcuffed before being asked to identify myself”.

In a statement, the LA Country Sheriff’s Department said: “It is unfortunate that Mr Jean was detained for six minutes during this investigation, as he had no involvement whatsoever in this violent crime. However, Los Angeles County Deputy Sheriffs are frequently required to make lawful detentions, under the strict parameters provided by law, in the interest of catching often dangerous and armed suspects in our communities and keeping the public safe”.

“The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department is apologetic for any inconvenience this process caused Mr Jean”, it continued. “We are grateful we were able to apprehend the robbery suspects and that no one was seriously injured”.

The statement also explained that police had been acting with caution due to the violent nature of the crime, and that Jean’s “furtive movements and demeanour” were what had led to him being placed in handcuffs.



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