Zach Bryan (Mugshot, left inset, from Fox Houston affiliate KRIV; Right inset photo from Bryan’s video)
It wasn’t a ballad, but Grammy-nominated country star Zach Bryan issued a mea culpa on Friday, lamenting getting lippy with a cop that landed him in jail in Oklahoma for a few hours this week.
Bryan, 27, was booked into the Craig County Jail on Thursday on a charge of obstruction of a law enforcement officer, an affidavit obtained by Law&Crime says.
Authorities allege he interfered with an officer writing a speeding ticket to the country star’s security guard, who was in an SUV behind Bryan as the two were caravaning from Oklahoma on a road trip to Boston to see the Philadelphia Eagles play the New England Patriots this Sunday.
When Bryan’s mugshot hit social, his fans ate it up.
“Zach Bryan got a No. 1 album, No. 1 single and mugshot all in one week,” Nicholas Hautman posted on X.
Zach Bryan got a No. 1 album, No. 1 single and mugshot all in one week. pic.twitter.com/Faj5ejsrVS
— Nicholas Hautman (@nickhautman) September 8, 2023
In a video, Bryan recounted the ordeal and called himself an idiot.
“I just wanted to be completely transparent with everyone who listens to my music about what happened yesterday with me getting arrested and everything,” he said. “So I want to start by saying I have to deal with the legalities of it. I did go to jail. I didn’t play favorites, and I was an idiot today. And my decisions did not reflect who I was as a person.”
An affidavit obtained by Law&Crime details Thursday’s arrest when an officer spotted Bryan’s security guard driving 78 mph in a 55 mph zone north on U.S. 60 in Vinita, in the northeastern corner of Oklahoma.
The officer said Bryan drove up next to his security guard’s vehicle during the traffic stop, got out of his truck and refused the officer’s orders to get back in.
When finishing writing his citation, the officer noted Bryan was “waving his hands around and making furtive movements inside the pickup,” the affidavit said.
When Bryan walked to the passenger window of the SUV, the officer immediately got out of his patrol unit, walked up to the SUV’s passenger side, and asked him, “What are you doing?” the document said.
“I am wondering what is taking so long,” Bryan said, according to the affidavit.
The officer told Bryan to return to his truck, but Bryan did not comply. The officer asked him a second time to get back in his truck, saying he was interfering with police duties and he would be going to jail if he did not comply.
“I’ll go to jail, let’s do it,” Bryan allegedly said.
The officer cuffed Bryan and told him again his actions interfered with the traffic stop. While in the front passenger seat of the patrol car, Bryan argued with the trooper, saying he was doing nothing wrong and saying the officer arresting him was “why people do not like police officers,” the affidavit said.
Bryan told the trooper that if he let him out of the handcuffs, he would get back in his truck, adding, “If you don’t, it is going to be a mistake, sir. I promise.”
“This is the second time this has happened in three days,” Bryan said, according to the affidavit. “These f—— cops are out of control.”
When the trooper finished writing the ticket, he asked Bryan’s security guard why Bryan was so irate. The security guard said Bryan was a musician and was “under a lot of stress and pressure.”
When the officer got Bryan’s father on speaker phone, Bryan allegedly mentioned open beer containers in the truck. During the conversation, Bryan’s father said he would call the Governor before the conversation was concluded, the affidavit said.
In his video, Bryan said he got “too lippy” with the officer.
“I just didn’t help my situation at all,” he said. “I felt like a child. It was ridiculous. It was immature. And I just pray everyone knows that I don’t think I’m above the law. I was just being disrespectful, and I shouldn’t have been, and it was my mistake.”
Bryan said when he was booked, “Everyone was super kind.” He spent a few hours in jail, and “the cop and me eventually shook hands.”
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