Britney escapes blame
2008-06-17 08:25
Los Angeles - A paparazzo who pressed charges against Britney Spears after her car ran over his foot was himself to blame for any injury, prosecutors said in refusing to pursue the case.
After reviewing police records and a videotape of the incident last year, Deputy District Attorney Joseph D Shidler wrote on Friday that the "only way the victim's foot could have been where the video indicates it to be was by the victim placing it in that location".
The photographer, who was not identified in the report, filed a criminal complaint against Spears in early May, nearly six months after the alleged incident. A copy of the police complaint was not immediately available Monday, but it sought a felony charge of failing to stop after an accident involving an injury.
Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley's office reviewed a videotape and photos of the incident, which don't show the photographer being hit. The report also describes a chaotic scene surrounding Spears, with photographers on all sides of her car and "a lot of noise and confusion".
The report describes Spears' as "driving at an extremely slow rate of speed and in a straight path".
Trouble behind the wheel
The 26-year-old pop star has had her share of trouble behind the wheel, including a highly publicised incident in 2006 where she was photographed driving with her son on her lap.
A misdemeanour hit-and-run charge stemming from a 2007 parking lot crash was dismissed after she settled with the car's owner. In October, she pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanour charge of driving without a valid license, and earlier this year was involved in a minor fender-bender on a Los Angeles freeway.
Spears told police she didn't remember the incident, and prosecutors believed her. "There was much commotion and noise at the time and there is no proof that the suspect was aware of what happened."
- AP