Justin Timberlake Moves to Block DWI Body Cam Footage

Justin Timberlake is taking legal action to prevent police body camera footage from his June 2024 DWI arrest from becoming public. According to PEOPLE, the singer filed a petition arguing that releasing the video would seriously harm his privacy and reputation.

Timberlake was arrested on June 18, 2024, after leaving the American Hotel in Sag Harbor, New York. He was initially charged with one count of driving while intoxicated and received two citations, one for running a stop sign and one for failing to keep in his lane.

At the time, his lawyer, Edward Burke Jr., maintained that Timberlake was “not intoxicated” when he was arrested.

According to the arrest report obtained by PEOPLE, Timberlake told the officer he "had one martini" and was following friends home. The report stated that an officer saw his 2025 BMW run a stop sign and fail to stay on the right side of the road. It also noted that Timberlake's “eyes were bloodshot and glassy.”

He was taken to Sag Harbor Police Headquarters for processing and refused multiple times to take a chemical test. Timberlake was held overnight and arraigned the next morning.

In September 2024, Timberlake reached a plea deal. He agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of driving while impaired instead of driving while intoxicated.

As part of the agreement, he was ordered to pay a $500 fine along with a $260 surcharge. He must also complete 25 hours of community service at a nonprofit organization of his choice. His driver’s license was suspended for 90 days, and he was required to create a public service announcement about the dangers of impaired driving.

On Monday, March 2, Timberlake filed a petition in Suffolk County Supreme Court. The filing argues that releasing the police body camera footage would invade his privacy.

“Public dissemination of this footage would cause severe and irreparable harm to [Timberlake’s] personal and professional reputation, subject [Timberlake] to public ridicule and harassment, and serve no legitimate public interest,” the petition read.

His attorneys, Edward Burke Jr. and Michael J. Del Piano, argue that making the video public would show footage from inside Timberlake’s car and "expose highly personal details unrelated to public oversight of governmental operations."

The petition came after the Sag Harbor Village Police Department, Department Chief Rober Drake, and the Village of Sag Harbor received a request to release the footage under the Freedom of Information Law, known as FOIL.

Timberlake’s legal team also stated that releasing the footage would reveal "intimate, highly personal, and sensitive details concerning [Timberlake] and his family, and includes information of medical, familial, otherwise confidential nature that is not necessary to inform the public about governmental operations or the performance of official duties."

Burke and Del Piano asked the court to "enter an emergency stay prohibiting disclosure" of the footage.

They also requested "an order and judgment" to block the release of the body camera video "in whole or in part" in response to any FOIL request from third parties without a court order. In addition, they asked that Timberlake and or the court be allowed to review the footage with proposed redactions to protect privacy. Finally, they requested any "other, further, and different relief" the court believes is appropriate.

For now, the decision rests with the court. The case is no longer just about a traffic stop. It is about privacy, public records, and how much of a celebrity’s worst moments should be open to everyone.