Justin Timberlake and Sag Harbor near agreement on potential release of footage of DWI arrest

Attorneys for the Village of Sag Harbor and pop star Justin Timberlake have made "substantial progress" in resolving the potential release of police body camera footage from the actor and musician's 2024 drunken-driving arrest, court records show.

As Newsday first reported earlier this month, Timberlake filed suit against the village, its police department and police chief to prevent the release of footage from the June 18, 2024, arrest, with the former 'N Sync frontman arguing it would "devastate" his privacy.

On March 5, Suffolk County Supreme Court Justice Joseph Farneti issued a temporary restraining order blocking the village from releasing the eight hours of bodycam footage, including the initial traffic stop, the officer's questioning of Timberlake, field sobriety tests and the pop star's subsequent arrest.

The order gave Sag Harbor until April 9 to submit documentation detailing why it should be permitted to release the footage as part of a Freedom of Information Law request by members of the media, including Newsday.

But on Wednesday, Vincent Toomey, the village's Lake Success-based attorney, wrote to Farneti, suggesting the two sides were close to resolving the dispute, which has gained national attention in recent weeks.

"The parties have made substantial progress in resolving this matter and jointly request a conference before your Honor to discuss this matter," Toomey wrote, court records show.

The details of any agreement between the two sides were not immediately clear and Toomey and attorneys for Timberlake did not respond to requests for comment.

Timberlake was driving a 2025 BMW with Florida plates south on Madison Street at 12:17 a.m. on June 18 when he failed to stop at a stop sign at the intersection with Jermain Avenue, Sag Harbor police and Suffolk prosecutors said at the time. 

The musician's eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, exhibited slowed speech and was unsteady on his feet, police said. The police report noted Timberlake "performed poorly on all standardized field sobriety tests."

Timberlake initially pleaded not guilty to driving while intoxicated but agreed to plead guilty to driving while ability impaired by alcohol, a lesser, noncriminal charge after negotiations with Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney’s office.

On Sept. 13, 2024, Sag Harbor Village Justice Carl Irace sentenced Timberlake to 25 hours of community service for the nonprofit of his choice and ordered him to pay a $500 fine, along with a $260 surcharge. Irace also ordered him to issue a public safety announcement. Timberlake's driver’s license was suspended in New York State for 90 days.

Earlier this month, village officials notified Timberlake's trial attorney, Edward D. Burke Jr., that they planned to release all eight hours of bodycam footage from the arrest, subject to undisclosed redactions for "medical" reasons and for the security of the Sag Harbor police complex, according to court filings.

Timberlake's attorneys then filed suit to block the release of the footage, which they wrote depicts the entertainer "in an acutely vulnerable state during a roadside encounter with law enforcement, capturing intimate details of petitioner’s physical appearance, demeanor, speech, and conduct during field sobriety testing, the subsequent arrest, and petitioner’s confinement following arrest over the next several hours."

Release of this footage, according to Timberlake attorney Michael Del Piano, "would cause severe and irreparable harm to petitioner's personal and professional reputation, subject petitioner to public ridicule and harassment, and serve no legitimate public interest in understanding the operations of government. Disclosure of this footage would constitute an unwarranted invasion of petitioner’s personal privacy."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.