AUSTIN – A judge will determine Monday if there's enough evidence to proceed with a case against actor Shia LaBeouf.
LaBeouf was arrested by Austin police for public intoxication outside a Sixth Street bar Friday evening. The arrest happened at the corner of Sixth Street and San Jacinto Boulevard around 7:30 p.m. after he allegedly attempted to cross against a "Don't Walk" sign and got in an officer's face when he was told to turn back around.
According to the arrest affidavit, a police officer was trying to turn at the corner of East 6th Street and San Jacinto Boulevard, when LaBeouf started walking across the street during the "Don't Walk" sign. He continued to walk across despite the green light for the police officer and other traffic. LaBeouf then lifted his hand, appearing to signal to traffic to stop.
The officer then flashed his emergency lights to question LaBeouf. According to the affidavit, he visually acknowledged the officer, "looking straight at him and raised his hands waste high while taking six backward steps." He turned away as the officer exited the patrol car. After ordering LaBeouf to stop, he walked back. The officer said his speech was "slurred and thick tongued and his eyes were glassy and dilated."
While the officer spoke with LaBeouf, he said that when he is stopped by Los Angeles police, he typically walks away because "police had killed a friend of his." The affidavit said he became "increasingly confrontational, aggravated, profane and verbally aggressive," calling the officer a "silly man" three times.
The officer also said he puffed his chest and started walking toward a witness who was filming the transaction. The affidavit said he then began puffing his chest at the officer, as well. It was at this point in the affidavit that the officer said LaBeouf began stating he was a member of the National Guard and that the officer needed to "do whatever the [expletive] you gotta do."
Public intoxication is a misdemeanor charge.
Several witnesses confirmed the details listed in the affidavit.
"The reason he got arrested originally is because he was jaywalking across the street over to [a bar there]. He got all in the cops' faces and they told him not to do that; he started cussing them out and stuff, he was clearly wide-eyed," said witness Noah Hubbard. "He's clearly here for [Austin City Limits Festival] but I guess he just wanted to come party tonight and I guess he took it a little too hard."
He was taken to the Travis County Jail and booked around 8:30 p.m. Friday.
"When I saw him, he wasn't saying anything really; he was just being really quiet. I guess he knew what he'd gotten himself into and he just didn't want to make it worst, but it's pretty interesting to see celebrities getting arrested downtown," said witness Ben Blake.
It didn't take long for the incident to make the rounds on social media:
Cell phone video sent to KVUE captured the arrest:
Earlier in the evening, another witness saw LaBeouf helping a woman who apparently passed out and fell down. He also took pictures with fans.
LaBeouf is reportedly in town for the second weekend of ACL. The actor has had several run-ins with the law and even sought treatment for alcoholism last year.
