Comedian Paul Rodriguez was arrested on Friday for possession of narcotics — though the funnyman claims the drugs weren’t his and that he got “roughed up” by police.
The incident happened Friday night in Burbank, Calif., when authorities pulled over a vehicle in which Rodriguez was a passenger. Though the vehicle was stopped for a code violation, a subsequent search of the car turned up narcotics, the Burbank Police Department confirmed to the Daily News.
Rodriguez was promptly “arrested and booked at the Burbank Police Jail for possession of narcotics,” cops said. He was later released with a citation to appear in court on April 25. A city attorney will decide whether Rodriguez will face formal charges for the incident.
According to the 70-year-old comedian, the narcotics police found belonged to a female friend, who was behind the wheel at the time. He told TMZ on Saturday that he was sleeping in the passenger seat and was slapped awake by a “Caucasian” officer on a “power trip.”
He claims he got “roughed up” before being taken into custody and is now considering filing a formal complaint. His friend was similarly arrested but remained in custody on Saturday for outstanding warrants, according to the outlet.
The Burbank Police Department did not address Rodriguez’s allegations of mistreatment.
Born in Mexico but raised in Los Angeles, Rodriguez developed an interest in standup while in college and honed his skills at L.A.’s Comedy Store. Beginning in the early ’80s, he appeared on countless talk shows and comedy specials, before gaining an even larger fanbase as part of the 2002 comedy documentary “The Original Latin Kings of Comedy,” alongside the likes of George Lopez and Cheech Marin.
In 2004, Comedy Central ranked him at No. 74 on its list of the 100 Greatest Standups of all Time.
