Kiefer Sutherland was arrested in Hollywood early on Monday morning following an alleged altercation with a rideshare driver, as reported by NBC4 Investigates. The 24 actor was accused of assaulting the driver and making threats towards them after entering the car, as per the outlet, and was arrested on Monday under “suspicion of felony criminal threats”.
The altercation allegedly occurred near Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles, and police confirmed that the victim did not sustain injuries that required immediate medical attention. Kiefer was taken into custody and shortly released after his $50,000 bail was paid. He is set to appear in an LA court on February 2.
This is not the 59-year-old’s first brush with the law; he spent 48 days in jail in 2007 after being convicted of driving while under the influence. Two years later, he was charged with assault for allegedly head-butting fashion designer Jack McCollough at a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The charges were dropped after Kiefer released a public statement of apology that read: “I am sorry about what happened that night and sincerely regret that Mr. McCollough was injured.”
See Kiefer on-screen below…
Jack responded in kind: “I appreciate Mr. Sutherland’s statement and wish him well.” Kiefer has been open about his experiences in prison, with his longest stint being three months.
“You ever get a brochure for a holiday, and you get there, and it’s not quite what you’re expecting?” he shared on Late Night With David Letterman in 2008. “Jail is not that. It’s exactly as advertised. One of the gang members in one of the cells was making all his signs to me, which I certainly didn’t understand.”
© Getty ImagesHe later explained to NME that county jails, where they typically keep prisoners with shorter sentences or people waiting to be transferred to other prisons, were particularly unpleasant and unsafe according to his experiences. “County jail in the US is not a great place – it’s not a safe place,” he told the publication.
“And they’ve got too much to worry about to actually take you into consideration. And I knew for a fact, during my time there, that I was a giant nuisance to the sheriff’s department [because they] had to make sure something didn’t happen to me.”
© Redferns“They’re overcrowded, and they’re dangerous,” he continued. “And [the officers] can’t even split up gang affiliations because they don’t know who’s who yet. This isn’t like prison; this is kind of a warehouse. In a way, prison is a refined experience compared to county jail.”
The Golden Globe winner even wrote a song about his time in prison, titled “County Jail Gate”. The lyrics read: “Once you’re inside, there’s no place to hide/ And you’re left to your wits and your fate. And there ain’t no sound I’ve learned more to hate/ Than the sound of the county jail gate.”
© Getty ImagesKiefer has endured several difficult years after the loss of his father, veteran actor Donald Sutherland, at the age of 88 in June 2024. “With a heavy heart, I tell you that my father, Donald Sutherland, has passed away,” he wrote in a statement.
“I personally think one of the most important actors in the history of film. Never daunted by a role, good, bad or ugly. He loved what he did and did what he loved, and one can never ask for more than that. A life well lived.”
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