Justin Bieber Arrested, Charged With Assault in Canada
The singer turned himself in to a police station on September 1
Toronto: Canadian pop star Justin Bieber faces new charges after he was arrested for dangerous driving and assault following a collision between a minivan and an ATV that led to a physical altercation involving a photographer, his lawyer said on September 2.
Ontario Provincial Police said Justin, who was driving the ATV, and an occupant of the minivan "engaged in a physical altercation," on the afternoon of August 29 near Bieber's hometown of Stratford.
"Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez's peaceful retreat in Stratford this weekend was unfortunately disrupted by the unwelcome presence of the paparazzi," Brian Greenspan, Justin's Toronto lawyer, said.
"This has regrettably resulted in charges of dangerous driving and assault. Mr. Bieber and Ms. Gomez have fully cooperated in the police investigation. We are hopeful that this matter will be quickly resolved."
Justin, 20, turned himself in to a police station on September 1 and was arrested, then released on a promise to appear in court on September 29, Constable Kees Wijnands said.
Mr Wijnands said there were no injuries as a result of the collision, but could not say whether there were any injuries from the altercation.
"It wasn't a big deal for us. We knew he was here. He's a local boy. We weren't going to make a big deal of it," he said, adding that Beiber was riding with a passenger.
Justin was photographed on August 29 riding on an ATV vehicle with on-and-off again girlfriend actress and a singer Selena Gomez.
Just a few days before the incident, Justin's car was hit from behind by a vehicle driven by a photographer in Hollywood and the Grammy Award-nominated singer tweeted: "There should be laws against what I just experienced. We should have learned from the death of Princess Diana".
He also tweeted: "I don't have a problem with paparazzi but when they act recklessly they put us all in danger."
Earlier this month, he had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of careless driving and resisting arrest seven months after his arrest in Miami Beach following what police initially called an illegal street drag race.
He was also charged in Toronto with assaulting a limousine driver in late December. Police allege that Justin hit a limousine driver several times in the back of the head after he and five others were picked up in the early hours of December 30.
His lawyers have said he is not guilty in that case. There is a court hearing in that case scheduled for September 8, but his lawyer said Justin won't attend.