Academy Award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon has announced she is “deeply embarrassed” after being arrested for disorderly conduct during a traffic stop where her husband Jim Toth was pulled over for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. The couple were pulled over early Friday morning near Atlanta when a state trooper noticed his vehicle weaved over a double line.
According to the police report, “Mrs Witherspoon began to hang out the window and say that she did not believe that I was a real police officer. I told Mrs Witherspoon to sit on her butt and be quiet.”
“Do you know my name?” Witherspoon is quoted saying in a Georgia Police incident report. The officer claimed he did not and she responded saying, “you’re about to find out who I am.”
The actress reportedly then refused to follow the officer instructions to stay in the vehicle. She “stated that she was a ‘U.S. citizen’ and that she was allowed to ‘stand on American ground.’ ”
“I took Mrs. Witherspoon out of the right side and placed Mr. Toth in the right side of the rear of my patrol car. As I put Mrs. Witherspoon in the left side rear of my patrol car, she told me her name. Mrs. Witherspoon also stated, ‘You are going to be on national news.’ I advised Mrs. Witherspoon that was fine.”
Due to Reese Witherspoon’s actions during her husband’s traffic stop, she would be charged with disorderly conduct. Her husband, Jim Toth, was charged with DUI.
“Out of respect for the ongoing legal situation, I cannot comment on everything that is being reported right now,” Witherspoon issued in a statement through her publicist. “But I do want to say, I clearly had one drink too many and I am deeply embarrassed about the things I said. It was definitely a scary situation and I was frightened for my husband, but that is no excuse. I was disrespectful to the officer who was just doing his job. I have nothing but respect for the police and I’m very sorry for my behavior.”
The couple would be released by police just a few hours after their arrest on Friday morning.
