Comedian Katt Williams was arrested in Seattle. This mug shot is from a previous arrest.
By Alan Duke
(CNN) — Katt Williams’ aggressive behavior at a Seattle bar and an odd exchange with police landed the comedian in jail Sunday, police said.
Williams “exchanged words with patrons in the bar, brandished a pool cue at a bar manager and refused to leave the business,” and later refused to show identification to a police officer who had been called to the scene, a Seattle police news release said.
The 41-year-old comic, who was in Seattle to perform his stand-up comedy show over the weekend, was booked into the King County Jail on charges of assault, harassment and obstruction, police said. He was released on bond Monday morning, a jail official said.
CNN requests for comment from Williams and his representative have not been answered.
Officer Michael Virgilio wrote in his report that he responded to a call for police help at the World Sports Bar Sunday afternoon. The manager told him that Williams had returned to the bar after being involved in a dispute with a customer the night before, Virgilio said in his arrest report.
“I suppose you’re going to ask me to take my hands out of my pockets, huh?” Williams said to Virgilio, according to the report, after the officer told Virgilio he had been “involved in a few disturbances.”
Williams refused to give his name or show an ID, but “yelled out a CA driver’s license number,” the officer wrote.
When Virgilio warned he would arrest him for obstruction unless he produced an ID, Williams responded “No.” The comedian then turned around and placed his hands behind his back “on his own accord,” the arrest report said.
“Two of Williams’ associates were standing nearby and were pleading for Williams to calm down,” the officer wrote.
While being handcuffed and searched, Williams “made several comments about how he was going to sue the department,” the report said.
“He stated he had been arrested over 30 times in the last few months and every time he was released prior to being booked into jail,” Virgilio wrote. “He made comments regarding my employment with the city of Seattle and how it would end as a result of his arrest. Williams stated he had millions of dollars and this arrest would not affect him.”
After the search turned up Williams’ passport in his pocket, the officer asked why he hadn’t just handed it over.
“You asked for my driver’s license,” he quoted Williams saying. “I didn’t have it!”
Then, it got worse, the arrest report said.
“Williams became aggressive and resistant and his actions forced me to take him to the ground for a short period of time. He was subsequently placed in the back of my patrol car.”
Williams was playing pool in the bar when Sunday’s trouble started, the report said. “An argument began and quickly escalated.”
When the manager tried to separate Williams from the couple with whom he was arguing, Williams yelled at him for “protecting the customers from the famous guy,” Virgilio wrote.
“Williams picked up a pool stick, raised it up and pointed it at his face,” the report said. “He continued to state if he hadn’t stepped back the stick would have hit in the the face.”
When the manager asked him to put the stick down, Williams said “What if I don’t?” and jabbed the stick toward him again, the report said.
“At one point during the altercation, Williams followed a family outside of the bar where, as the family got into their car, Williams flicked a cigarette through a car window at a woman, striking her just below her eye,” the police news release said. “Williams also threw a rock at the family’s car.”
Officer Virgilio said he would request additional charges against Williams including reckless endangerment, because he threw a rock that hit a window in the family’s car, “directly next to an 8-year-old girl.”
“Had the glass shattered or the rock had penetrated the window it could have struck and harmed the 8-year-old victim,” he said.
Williams began his career as a stand-up comic, gaining attention in 1999 for comedy club appearances. Television appearances on the BET Network led to more success.
His 2006 HBO special “Katt Williams: Pimp Chronicles Pt.1” raised his profile to a higher level.
He has acted in several movies — including Eddie Murphy’s “Norbit” — and he is the voice of popular cartoons, including “The Boondocks.”
His often-raunchy style has drawn comparisons to comedy legend Richard Pryor.
CNN’s Jane Caffrey contributed to this report.
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