Public intoxication is considered a criminal offense — a misdemeanor in most jurisdictions — and is generally defined as appearing in public while under the influence of alcohol or a drug to such an extent that the individual endangers himself or herself or others or property. It is usually the intoxicated person’s offensive conduct while under the influence that results in the individual’s arrest and charge.
Obnoxious conduct by celebrities is hardly new, but if it is the result of excessive drinking or being under the influence of a narcotic or other drug and it rises to the level of harmful or disruptive behavior, then it becomes newsworthy.
Film actor and model Jonathan Rhys Meyers was arrested in November 2007 for public intoxication at the Dublin Airport. He was again detained by police in 2009 after assaulting airport employees at a bar inside the Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris. Despite several treatment stints for alcohol abuse after the incident, Meyers was banned from a United Airlines flight in May 2010 as a result of his belligerent and abusive behavior at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York where he was seen to have been drinking heavily.
Courtney Love is no stranger to drugs and their effects. In 2004 she was arrested outside of the home of her ex-manager and boyfriend after breaking several windows and was charged with public intoxication after toxicology tests confirmed the presence of cocaine and other drugs in her system. Love has been in drug-rehab programs a number of times and has had numerous encounters with police over other drug and alcohol incidents.
Athletes have frequently been seen, arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication. Pacman Jones of the Tennessee Titans was arrested in 2006 at a nightclub where he had been observed arguing loudly with a female companion outside the club. Smelling strongly of alcohol and refusing police warnings to leave the scene, Jones was taken into custody.
Famous English soccer star Ashley Cole was arrested in 2009 for drunk and disorderly conduct after an altercation with a photographer. When Cole refused police requests to calm down, he was arrested and booked. He later apologized to police for his conduct.
