Miami

Comedian Hannibal Buress Has Miami Disorderly Intoxication Charge Dropped

Prosecutors say they can't prove he "endangered the safety or another person or of property"

What to Know

  • Prosecutors say they can't prove he "endangered the safety or another person or of property"
  • The officer's body camera captured part of the encounter
  • The video shows that as Buress is put in handcuffs, a small group of fans gather around him and the officer

Florida prosecutors have dropped a disorderly intoxication charge against comedian Hannibal Buress stemming from his December arrest in Miami.

"In Florida, it’s protected First Amendment speech to ask a police officer to call you an Uber,” Buress' attorney, Brian Bieber, told the Miami Herald. "Also, when coming from a professional comedian, it's actually funny. Unfortunately, the arresting officer didn't think so."

The" Broad City" actor was arrested in the Wynwood District on Dec. 10, after asking a police officer to call him an Uber ride home.

According to a police report, Buress became "angry and belligerent" when Officer Luis Verne told him to leave.

Police body camera video did not capture the initial encounter and began rolling right before Buress asks the officer to "turn the camera on."

"Hey, what's up? It's me, Hannibal Buress," the comedian can be heard telling the officer. "This cop is stupid as f---. Hey, put the camera on."

Officer Verne appears unamused and asks Buress again to leave before placing him under arrest. As Buress is being handcuffed, video shows a group of fans approach the two men and ask why the comedian is being arrested.

"I'm under arrest right now for calling him a b---- a-- n-----," Buress tells the group, claiming the officer was "salty." 

Buress, 34, was booked in to jail  and later released.

Prosecutors said the charge was dropped because they couldn't prove Buress "endangered the safety or another person or of property," according to a news release from the Miami-Dade State Attorney's Office.

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