'New Girl' star Lamorne Morris handcuffed for filming friend getting arrested: 'I play a f***ing cop on TV'
Following an altercation with a bouncer, outside a club in Hollywood, California, on Saturday, October 19, actor Lamorne Morris was handcuffed by police as he continued to record a video of his friend getting arrested.
During the incident outside Avenue, on Cahuenga Boulevard, some tough words were exchanged between the arresting officers and the 36-year-old star who is well-known for the role of Winston Bishop in the Fox sitcom 'New Girl.' The incident was also filmed by a bystander.
In the altercation that took place with some security guards and was not caught on tape, Morris' friend got injured and was seen bleeding from his face in the video. When the cops were arresting his friend, Morris came to the former's defense as he protested his innocence. He claimed the friend was the victim and had been attacked without provocation.
While he continued to speak and document the incident, Morris could be seen being slammed against a wall by an officer, who later handcuffed him. "Now they’re arresting me!" the actor kept on protesting as a second police officer approached. "I play a f***ing cop on TV and this is how you treat me?"
After being temporarily detained for invading the police officer’s personal space, Morris was released. He later told TMZ that he was trying to convince the officers that his friends never instigated the fight and were merely trying to remove themselves from the conflict when it broke out.
"It's so f***ing whack, man, that's crazy to me," he said. "They walked up to the n***** that's bleeding out the mouth and they put him in handcuffs. And I go, 'wait, somebody hit him in the mouth!' And they go, 'well, someone said that he started something.'"
He added: "We are half a block away from the f***ing spot! But you ain't questioning nobody else? And the only other person you put in cuffs is the guy recording you? Alright. They just put me in cuffs because he said I ain't give him enough space. He said, 'You didn't give me five feet.' I said, 'bro, I'm right here! That's ten feet!'"