LOS ANGELES: Grammy winner Wyclef Jean was detained and handcuffed in Los Angeles after the police wrongfully identified him as a robbery suspect.
The singer was detained by the Los Angeles county sheriff's department on Tuesday when he was driving round North Hollywood, reports the Guardian.
The sheriffs said Jean matched the description of a person wanted in connection to an assault and robbery at a gas station in the city.
Jean, who vowed to sue the department, also posted a short video of his interaction with the police.
“LAPD another case of mistaken identity. Black man with red bandana robbed a gas station as I was in the studio working but I’m in handcuffs?” he tweeted.
“I was asked by the police to put my hands up. Then I was told do not move. I was instantly hand cuffed before being asked to identify myself. Nor was I told why I was being cuffed. In the process I said my name and told them they have wrong person,” he added.
In his tweet, he further said that the officers ignored him even after explaining who he was.
“They proceeded to ignore me and I was treated like a criminal until other police showed up and pointed out they had wrong person,” he wrote on Twitter.
“As someone who has law enforcers in my family, I was appalled by this behavior of the [police],” Jean added.
However, the sheriff’s department later released an apology to the singer, stating that it was unfortunate that Jean was detained for six minutes during the investigation despite any involvement in the crime.