Britney Spears refused to exit her BMW for approximately 10 minutes before her driving under the influence arrest in March, according to a police report and dashcam video obtained by The Associated Press. When she finally complied, the pop star smelled of alcohol and appeared intoxicated during field sobriety tests, though breath tests indicated she was within the legal alcohol limit.
Police Report Details
The California Highway Patrol report described Spears as having rapid, slurred speech, an unsteady gait, and fidgeting fingers. Her mood fluctuated from confrontational and agitated to flamboyant and compliant, and she occasionally spoke with a British accent. Spears told officers, 'I could probably drink four bottles of wine and take care of you, I’m an angel,' but claimed she had only consumed one mimosa hours earlier and rated her intoxication level as 'zero.'
Breath tests recorded her blood alcohol level at 0.05 and 0.06, below California's legal limit of 0.08. Officers also found a bottle of Adderall in her purse, which was not prescribed to her. A blood sample was taken for drug testing, but results were not included in the report.
Arrest and Legal Outcome
Spears was pulled over on March 5 for speeding and swerving on U.S. 101 in Ventura County. She initially refused to leave her vehicle, citing past pranks and harassment, and expressed fear of exiting on the highway. When officers offered to move her car around the corner, she suggested going to her house, saying, 'I’ll make you food or lasagna, whatever you want. I have a pool.' She was eventually handcuffed, taken to jail, and released on bail hours later.
She voluntarily entered a rehabilitation facility soon after. On May 4, she pleaded guilty to reckless driving involving alcohol and drugs, avoiding further jail time. Prosecutors noted the plea agreement was standard for defendants with no prior DUI history, no crash or injury, and a low blood-alcohol level.
Background and Public Scrutiny
Spears' attorney, Michael Goldstein, stated after the plea hearing, '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.' Spears rose to superstardom in the 1990s and 2000s with hits like 'Toxic,' '...Baby One More Time,' and 'Oops!... I Did It Again.' She became a tabloid fixture in the early 2000s, facing intense scrutiny over her mental health and battles with paparazzi. She spent nearly 14 years under a court-ordered conservatorship controlled by her father before being freed in 2021. Since then, she has married, divorced, and released a bestselling memoir, 'The Woman in Me.'
