“Designated Survivor” actor Kiefer Sutherland was arrested early Monday, Jan. 12, and later bailed following a physical altercation with a rideshare driver in Los Angeles, law enforcement confirmed to USA TODAY.
Soon after midnight on Jan. 12, officers from the Los Angeles Police Department responded to a radio call regarding an assault involving a rideshare driver near Sunset Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, according to a statement provided by LAPD to USA TODAY on Tuesday, Jan. 13.
The 59-year-old actor is accused of entering the vehicle and physically assaulting the driver, the LAPD says. Sutherland also made criminal threats toward the victim and was consequently arrested.
Police confirmed in the Tuesday statement that no one sustained injuries that required medical attention at the scene. USA TODAY has reached out to Sutherland’s representatives for comment.
Is Kiefer Sutherland in jail?
Sutherland was later released on $50,000 bail on Monday, Jan. 12, at around 11:30 a.m. local time, according to jail records reviewed by USA TODAY.
His first court hearing has been scheduled for Feb. 2 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles.
This is Sutherland’s first reported encounter with law enforcement in more than a decade. In 2007, he spent 48 days in jail following a DUI conviction.
Who is Kiefer Sutherland?
Sutherland is a 59-year-old British‑born Canadian actor turned country music singer-songwriter.
Best known for TV roles in “Designated Survivor” and “24,” Sutherland recently starred in Netflix’s action thriller “Stone Cold Fox” and holiday comedy “Tinsel Town.” Sutherland’s role as counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer in Fox’s “24” landed him both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
Other film credits include 1987’s “The Lost Boys” and 1986’s “Stand by Me.”
In the 2000’s, he and musician Jude Cole founded their own record label, Ironworks. By 2016, he released his debut album, “Down in a Hole,” and pursued a career as a country singer.
“I love writing the songs and I love playing them, and it’s no more than that. I don’t have some out-of-perspective dream, it’s just something I really love doing,” Sutherland told USA TODAY in 2023.
Contributing: James Ward, Palm Springs Desert Sun