MIAMI (AP) â€" Remaining police video clips of Justin Bieber after his January arrest will be made public with sensitive portions blacked out to protect the singers privacy, a judge ruled Tuesday.
Miami-Dade County Judge William Altfield said two of the five unreleased video clips depict the singers genitalia during a urine test for drugs at the Miami Beach Police Department. Altfield agreed with lawyers for Bieber, who turned 20 on Saturday, that the videos airing would be an invasion of privacy that outweighed the publics right to know.
"Mr. Biebers right to privacy is paramount," the judge said. "He has not lost his right to privacy, and that is what is important here."
Separately, the Miami Beach Police Department made public a new set of 18 photos taken shortly after Biebers arrest, mainly close-ups of his many tattoos â€" a praying Jesus, a grinning jokers face accompanied by the word "love," a Psalms quotation, and more â€" and one full-length picture of the singer.
Attorneys for The Associated Press and other news outlets had previously suggested any sensitive portions be blacked out and the rest released under Floridas liberal open records laws. Much of the footage was released last week, some of it showing Bieber walking unsteadily during a sobriety test.
Bieber has pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence, resisting arrest and driving with an expired license. He and R&B singer Khalil Amir Sharieff were arrested early on Jan. 23 during what police called an illegal street drag race between a Lamborghini and a Ferrari. Neither has been charged with drag racing.
Bieber attorney Roy Black said he was satisfied with the ruling, as did media attorneys. AP attorney Deanna Shullman said the news organization would never show Biebers private parts, and Scott Ponce, representing The Miami Herald and CBS television stations, said the ruling was more about protecting the singer from random releases on the Internet.
Black said the three clips to be released without redaction are shot from an angle that is too far away to discern what is going on.
Prosecutors said they will release all five remaining clips in a few days, after the court-ordered redactions are completed.
Evidence released previously showed that a breath test found Biebers blood-alcohol level below the .02 threshold considered intoxicated for underage drivers. The urine test found the presence of the active ingredient in marijuana and the antianxiety drug Xanax. Bieber told officers he had been smoking marijuana before his arrest, according to police reports.
A trial date has not been set.
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