Did Michael Jackson Lie About His Treatment? Or Did Police Cover It Up?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Then one time, I asked to use the restroom. And they said, “Sure, it’s right around the corner there.” Once I went in the restroom, they locked me in there for like 45 minutes. There was doo doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling. And it stunk so bad. Then one of the policemen came by the window. And he made a sarcastic remark. He said, “Smell — does it smell good enough for you in there? How do you like the smell? Is it good?” And I just simply said, “It’s alright. It’s okay.” So, I just sat there, and waited.
In a 2003 interview with Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes, Michael Jackson claimed he was physically and verbally abused by Santa Barbara County deputies during his arrest on child‑molestation charges, saying the experience left him with a dislocated shoulder and ongoing pain. He alleged that handcuffs were applied “too tight behind my back” in a way that was intended to hurt him and that he was locked for about 45 minutes in a filthy bathroom smeared with feces while officers mocked him through a window. These are the comments you quoted from the broadcast.
Sheriff Jim Anderson and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department forcefully denied Jackson’s allegations, saying he had been treated with “courtesy and professionalism” and was “in no way manhandled or abused.” Anderson later told reporters that Jackson never complained during the booking process, even whistled and sang on the way to jail, and replied “Wonderful” when asked how he was doing. The department said Jackson was placed not in a filthy restroom but in a recently cleaned holding cell and publicly suggested that, if an investigation showed his statements were false, they would consider pursuing a misdemeanor charge for filing a false report.
Because of the publicity around the interview, California’s attorney general ordered an independent review of how Jackson was treated when he was taken into custody. In August 2004, that review concluded Jackson was neither “manhandled” nor mistreated during his arrest, effectively clearing the deputies of wrongdoing. There is no record of any criminal charges or internal discipline against the officers stemming from his abuse allegations, and news reports at the time describe the sheriff’s office as feeling vindicated by the state’s findings. Jackson and his attorney, Mark Geragos, continued to insist his account was true, but legally and administratively, the investigation ended with law enforcement exonerated and no sanctions imposed.
What do you think?
ED BRADLEY: What happened when they arrested you? What did they do to you?MICHAEL JACKSON: They were supposed to go in, and just check fingerprints, and do the whole thing that they do when they take somebody in. They manhandled me very roughly. My shoulder is dislocated, literally. It’s hurting me very badly. I’m in pain all the time. This is, see this arm? This is as far as I can reach it. Same with this side over here.
ED BRADLEY: Because of what happened at the police station?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah. Yeah. At the police station. And what they did to me — if you — if you saw what they did to my arms — it was very bad what they did. It’s very swollen. I don’t wanna say. You’ll see. You’ll see.
We were given a photograph said to be taken after Michael Jackson was released on bail. Jackson says the swelling above his wrist is where the police handcuffed him.
ED BRADLEY: How did they do it? I mean, what, physically, what did they do?
MICHAEL JACKSON: With the handcuffs, the way they tied ’em too tight behind my back —
ED BRADLEY: Behind your back?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah. And putting it, they put it in a certain position, knowing that it’s going to hurt, and affect my back. Now I can’t move. I — I — it keeps me from sleeping at night. I can’t sleep at night.
And Jackson says there was more …
MICHAEL JACKSON: Then one time, I asked to use the restroom. And they said, “Sure, it’s right around the corner there.” Once I went in the restroom, they locked me in there for like 45 minutes. There was doo doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling. And it stunk so bad. Then one of the policemen came by the window. And he made a sarcastic remark. He said, “Smell — does it smell good enough for you in there? How do you like the smell? Is it good?” And I just simply said, “It’s alright. It’s okay.” So, I just sat there, and waited.
ED BRADLEY: For 45 minutes?
MICHAEL JACKSON: Yeah, for 45 minutes. About 45 minutes. And then — then one cop would — come by, and say, “Oh, you’ll be out in — in a second. You’ll be out in a second.” Then there would be another ten minutes added on, then another 15 minutes added on. They did this on purpose.
What about Jackson’s allegations? Was he mistreated? Did the police injure his arm and shoulder? Did they lock him in a bathroom for 45 minutes? To get answers to those questions, we made repeated calls to both the sheriff’s office and the office of the district attorney. They declined our request for an interview and referred us to the statement on their Web site, which says about allegations of mistreatment: “That is not true.” It was the sheriff’s deputies who executed the search warrant of the Neverland ranch.
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