Comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez was arrested during a traffic stop in Burbank on Friday night.
Burbank Police Sgt. Rodriguez, 70, was a passenger in a vehicle, parked around 7:30 p.m. for a “code violation” in the areas of Victory Boulevard and Victory Boulevard and Lamer Street.
“Drugs were found during the investigation,” Turner said in a statement.
Turner said Rodriguez was booked at Burbank Pail for possession of narcotics and cited a court appearance next month.
Rodriguez tells a different version of the story.
He told TMZ that he was sleeping in the passenger seat when a “Caucasian” officer slapped him to wake him up. Rodriguez told the media that the drugs belong to the drivers of the vehicle.
His attorney, Bobby Samini, called for allegations against Rodriguez False, and said his arrest and treatment by police was “a violation of his civil rights.”
“He always cooperates fully with law enforcement,” Samini said in a statement. “The law enforcement asserts that the driver of the vehicle has a controlled substance. Mr. Rodriguez has no controlled substance and is not affected by any controlled substance.”
Rodriguez is the son of an immigrant farm worker who was born in Mexico and then moved to East Los Angeles during his youth. His career began at the Los Angeles Comedy Club in the late 1970s.
Rodriguez’s work includes writing and acting, including dozens of films, including his own indie comedy specialty. He also hosted TV shows about Univision and MTV. He is known for his roles in movies such as “Blood Work”, “Rat Rat Race”, “The Fastest Indian in the World” and “Tropical Soup”.
