Britney Spears smelled of booze, swayed through field sobriety tests and refused for about 10 minutes to get out of her BMW after she was pulled over for speeding and swerving on U.S. 101 in Ventura County on March 4, according to a California Highway Patrol report and dashcam video obtained by The.
The report said Spears' speech was rapid and slurred, her gait was unsteady and she kept fidgeting with her fingers. It also said her mood shifted from confrontational and agitated to flamboyant and compliant during the stop, and that she appeared at times to speak with a British accent. Officers later cuffed her, took her to jail and released her on bail hours later.
The details help explain why the stop became one of the most closely watched celebrity DUI cases of the year. Spears, 42, was pulled over near the Los Angeles County line and underwent field sobriety and breath tests that put her blood alcohol level at 0.05 and 0.06. California presumes impairment at 0.08, but the report said an officer also found a bottle of Adderall in her purse that was not prescribed to her. Spears gave a blood sample for a drug test, though the results were not included in the report.
Her own words, captured on the video, added to the surreal tone of the stop. Spears told officers, “I could probably drink four bottles of wine and take care of you, I’m an angel.” She also suggested they go to her house, saying, “I’ll make you food or lasagna, whatever you want. I have a pool.” At another point, she said she had only one drink, a mimosa, hours earlier and rated her intoxication at zero.
Spears was later charged with misdemeanor DUI before pleading guilty on May 4 to reckless driving involving alcohol and drugs. She avoided more jail time under the plea agreement, which Ventura County prosecutors said was standard for defendants with no DUI history, no crash or injury on the road and a low blood-alcohol level. Soon after the arrest, Spears voluntarily checked into a rehabilitation facility.
The record released from the March 4 stop shows a stark contrast between the public image of a pop star in control and the reality described by officers on the roadside. It also closes a chapter that began with an arrest and ended with a plea, though Spears spent nearly 14 years under a court-ordered conservatorship before being freed from it in 2021.
