In the early hours of Tuesday morning, Wyclef Jean was handcuffed and placed in the back of a police car because Los Angeles County Sheriff's Officers believed he fit the description of the suspect in an armed robbery of a local Gas Station. Officers even said that the other man fled the scene in a car that looked similar to Wyclef's so when they saw him out driving around in the early morning hours, they pulled him over.
Wyclef Jean blasts law enforcement for detaining him
Someone was filming as Wyclef Jean was questioned, placed in handcuffs, and then placed in the back of a police car.
On the video, the "Gone Til November" rapper says, "LA, right now, coming from the studio. Y’all see the police have handcuffs on me. They just took off my Haitian bandana. That’s what’s going on with Wyclef in LA right now. The L.A.P.D. have me in handcuffs for absolutely nothing."
After the responding officers ran Wyclef Jean's ID and realized that they definitely had the wrong guy, he was let go but that didn't stop the rapper and many of his fans from blasting the L.A. County Sheriff's Department on social media. Many were upset about their actions and for saying that Wyclef "fit the description" of someone who was robbing gas stations. They even removed his Haitian bandana and said that the robber was wearing a red bandana, further likening him to the suspect.
LAPD apologizes for the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
After the incident and a mountain of bad press, the Los Angeles Police Department decided to apologize to Wyclef Jean on behalf of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department for the mistaken identity and for ruining his night. In the apology, they revealed that Wyclef was detained for six minutes, which certainly felt much longer to him as he sat in the back seat of a police cruiser, wondering if he was headed to jail.
LAPD also apologized to Wyclef Jean and made it clear that he did not commit any crime. They also pointed out that Wyclef's experience was not illegal and that they had good reason to pull him over while looking for the suspects. They did end up catching the actual armed robbery, who will not be holding up any more gas stations.
