'W.' Star Opens Up About Police Scuffle

by Jonathan Crow | October 8, 2008

"W." star Josh Brolin has finally opened up over the headline-grabbing scuffle that took place at the Stray Cat bar in Shreveport, Louisiana this past July. In what has to be one of the worst wrap parties in history, Brolin wound up maced, co-star Jeffery Wright was tasered, and five fellow cast and crew members were thrown in jail. Though he was charged with interfering with an arrest, Brolin described a very different scene than the one painted by early reports from the Shreveport police.

"None of us were drunk; we had just finished shooting three or four hours before," Brolin told Hollywood Elsewhere columnist Jeffrey Wells. He says the conflict started between Wright, who plays Colin Powell in "W.", and the establishment's bartender.

"I don't know the specifics between Jeffrey [Wright] and the bartender, but he was asked to leave, and I know that was why the cops came, to say okay, it's time to escort you out. Not because [Jeffrey] was yelling or screaming. He was just saying, 'Look, I'm here with my friends, I'm celebrating the end of our movie,' and then they escorted him out, [and] we wanted to know why, and they didn't want to tell us. They immediately resorted to violence. Which is what the police are there to try and stop and prevent. That didn't happen. They were the violent ones." Read the full article >>

Witnesses on the scene reportedly heard arresting officers shouting racial slurs. Brolin also confirmed the existence of the long-rumored cell-phone video of the episode. He said, "It was us going....you can see it on the tape...us going 'whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, WHOA.' There was no fight-back at all."

So why is Brolin going public with this now, three months after the incident and a month before the trial? Simple. He was waiting for the authorities in Louisiana to drop charges and make amends, to no avail. "My lawyers are befuddled right now. They do not understand and they have never experienced anything like this. The dealings with the Shreveport legal system...I said you know what, it's too long now, I'm done. I'm done being nice. What's the worst, they're gonna put me in jail a couple of months because I spoke out about [their] abuse?"

"I have never ever, ever, ever, ever seen an escalation of paranoia and abuse like that...ever. And I know a lot of cops. Everybody knows I have a checkered past and I've been in situations that are kind of tough. I've never ever been treated like that by cops. Ever."

Though this is the first time Brolin has spoken publicly about the episode, it doesn't sound like it will be the last. Brolin's court date in Shreveport is sometime in November or December, while "W." hits theaters on October 17th. To see Brolin as the 43rd president, watch the extended trailer below.