Britney Spears allegedly underneath affect of ‘medication and alcohol,’ police say as they handle singer’s DUI arrest

Police revealed Thursday that Britney Spears allegedly ‘showed signs of impairment’ during her shocking DUI arrest the night before.

In a release from the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that was obtained by the Daily Mail, police said the 44-year-old pop star was subjected to multiple field sobriety tests before she was taken into custody.

According to CHP, Spears was arrested on ‘suspicion of driving under the influence of a combination of alcohol and drugs.’

However, they said that chemical tests to further determine any substances that she may have been using are still pending.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Spears’s representative for comment. 

According to police, they began pursuing Spears after a call came in at around 8:48 p.m. PT to CHP’s Ventura Communications Center to report a black BMW 430i that was allegedly driving erratically at high speeds on the southbound side of US-101 near Newbury Park, California. 

CHP officers from around Moorpark were able to find Spears’s vehicle and initiated a stop, at which point she exited the highway and pulled over to the shoulder.

Police confirmed that the singer was the only person in the vehicle when her car was stopped.

They added that Spears allegedly appeared to be impaired, so she was put through a variety of field sobriety tests.

As a result of her performance, police say they arrested Spears for violating ‘California Vehicle Code section 23152(g), driving under the influence of a combination of drugs and alcohol.’

Spears was then booked into the Ventura County Main Jail around 3 a.m. on Thursday morning, before she was released around 6 a.m.

Police emphasized that their investigation into Spears is still ongoing, and they are waiting on the results of chemical tests to come in.

Earlier on Thursday, a source told TMZ that, in addition to suspected DUI, an unknown substance was reportedly found in Spears’s car and will be included in the arrest report.

The Daily Mail has since obtained photos of the impound lot where Spears’s vehicle was allegedly taken after her arrest. 

A car that appeared to be Spears’s black BMW and matched the police description was pictured as it was driven off the lot. 

Notably, the car was not driven by Spears when it was picked up. 

The latest revelations from police about the singer’s arrest come after the Daily Mail obtained audio of the 911 dispatch call earlier on Thursday.

The call indicates that Spears was allegedly driving erratically on the highway, leading to a harrowing hour-long chase with police.

She was arrested around 9:30 p.m. after police allegedly observed her swerving in and out of lanes. 

In the call, in which officers and dispatchers described the chase as it happened, one dispatcher could be heard saying, ‘A black sedan, erratic braking, swerving and driving with no tail light.’ 

An officer could also be heard requesting that ‘all units’ in the area be directed toward the swerving vehicle.

Officers stated that they were pursuing a ‘2026 black BMW convertible’ before they were finally able to pull Spears over.

The pursuit began around 8:13 p.m., but it wasn’t until 9:13 p.m. that officers confirmed that Spears was out of her vehicle.

During the call, one officer was heard requesting a drug recognition expert (DRE), who is trained by CHP to determine if drivers are under the influence. 

Another officer could then be heard asking for the DRE to get to the scene as quickly as possible.

Sources told TMZ that Spears was allegedly transported to a hospital for a blood draw to determine her blood alcohol content (BAC).

Spears will now have a court hearing on May 4. 

Following the arrest, a representative for the singer told the Daily Mail: ‘This was an unfortunate incident that is completely inexcusable. Britney is going to take the right steps and comply with the law, and hopefully this can be the first step in the long-overdue changes that need to occur in her life. 

‘Hopefully, she can get the help and support she needs during this difficult time.

‘Her boys are going to be spending time with her, and her loved ones are going to come up with an overdue plan to set her up for success and wellbeing.’ 

The singer has two sons with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, 20-year-old Sean Preston and 19-year-old Jayden James, both of whom live in Hawaii with their father.

Just last month, Spears was spotted behind the wheel of her Mercedes SUV as she appeared to break the law by holding her cell phone to her face.

On February 12, she was photographed taking a spin around Los Angeles while she appeared to be talking on the phone, which is illegal in California under the ‘No Touch’ law (Vehicle Code 23123.5).

She was not charged in relation to the incident. 

It was, however, not an isolated incident for Spears, who, in recent months, was filmed swerving into the wrong lane on a highway after a night out. At the time, sources feared she was ‘spiraling’ amid the release of her ex-husband Federline‘s memoir. The two were married from 2004 to 2007.

Her history with the police also includes being cited for a hit-and-run (misdemeanor) after hitting a parked car in 2007. This was dismissed after Spears paid an undisclosed sum to the owner, it was reported at the time. 

She was also cited for driving without a valid California driver’s license in 2008, which was later dismissed by a judge. 

In 2023, law enforcement visited Spears’s home regarding a video involving knives, but no charges were filed.

Spears has had very public personal struggles for nearly two decades. 

In 2007, the star famously suffered a harrowing breakdown after exhibiting worrying behavior in the months leading up to her infamous psychiatric hold.

The then 25-year-old had fans concerned after she shaved her head and attacked a paparazzi’s car with a green umbrella, before she checked into a rehab facility.

The Toxic singer suffered another setback after a disastrous performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, when her performance of Gimme More was heavily criticized by both fans and critics alike.

Then, in January 2008, she was put under lockdown at a facility after refusing to hand over her young son to her ex-husband Federline. 

More recently, Spears has been open about issues with her family, as in early February, when she claimed she is ‘scared’ of them and ‘lucky to be alive’ in a bombshell social media post. 

The pop superstar had lashed out at her family once again, four years after she was liberated from her 13-year conservatorship, which was primarily controlled by her father, 73-year-old Jamie Spears.

The toxic hitmaker claimed that her relatives will ‘never take responsibility’ as she criticized them for ‘isolating’ her. 

‘I’m incredibly lucky to even be alive with how my family treated me once in my life and now I’m scared of them,’ the singer wrote in a lengthy caption.

‘They will never take responsibility for what they did,’ she wrote, adding, ‘We can forgive as people but u don’t ever forget.’

At the end of her post, Spears detailed her latest health blow, stating she hasn’t been able to dance because she broke her toe ‘twice’, four months after she sustained a ‘horrible’ leg injury. 

Spears has had a contentious relationship with her family members for years following her 13-year conservatorship that ended in November 2021. 

Her father Jamie was initially a co-conservator after the arrangement started in 2008, with the attorney Andrew Wallet serving alongside him until 2019.

The conservatorship was put in place following concerns for her mental health.

Over Christmas, Spears shared a scathing message seemingly directed at her family, after her younger sister Jamie Lynn, 34, posted a holiday snap with Spears’s older son, Sean.