Zach Bryan is speaking out after being arrested in Oklahoma on Sept. 7.
The country singer was arrested in Vinita, located more than 60 miles northeast of Tulsa, on a charge of obstruction of investigation, according to the affidavit obtained by NBC News. He was released on a $1,000 bail bond, per the Craig County Sheriff's Office.
Bryan was arrested after he pulled up next to an SUV who had been pulled over for speeding. While the officer was completing his citation, the singer got out of his truck and walked to the passenger side of the pulled over SUV. When the officer asked him what he was doing, “The male responded by saying, ‘I am wondering what is taking so long.’”
Bryan was told to get back in his truck and when he “did not comply” after the second time, the officer told him that he was “interfering with his police duties and that if he did not comply that he would be going to jail. The male responded with saying ‘I’ll go to jail, let’s do it.’”
He was then placed under arrest for interfering with the traffic stop and escorted to the front passenger seat of the patrol car where he identified himself.
“I just wanted to be completely transparent with everyone who listens to my music about what happened yesterday with me getting arrested and everything because I don't want the internet to do what the internet does and, I don't know, make stuff up,” Bryan, 27, said in a video posted Sept. 8 on his Instagram stories.
“I did go to jail. I didn’t play favorites. And I was an idiot today,” he added. “And my decisions did not reflect who I was as a person. And I just want to make that clear.”
The “Oklahoma Smokeshow” singer said he was pulled over a few days ago for going about four or five miles over the speed limit and that things got a little tense when he told the officer he didn’t feel comfortable giving him his address because he’s a musician. The officer handcuffed him and Bryan finally revealed his address before the cop let him go with a warning.
The Grammy-nominated star then said he was driving a few days later on Sept. 7 to Boston when he noticed his security guard, driving in a car behind him, was pulled over. Bryan pulled up next to the guard and became impatient, prompting him to step out of his car. The officer told him to get back inside or he would be arrested before he was placed in handcuffs and made to sit in the police car.
“I just didn’t help my situation at all,” he said. “I felt like a child. It was ridiculous. I was immature. And I just pray everyone knows that. I don’t think I’m above the law. I was just being disrespectful. And I shouldn’t have been and it was my mistake.”
Bryan said the handcuffs were tight and he was getting angrier, even when he was let out of the car.
“I’m just mouthing off, like an idiot, like an actual child,” he said.
The officer proceeded to tell him not to interrupt him, which Bryan did.
“So he said, ‘I’m taking you to jail’ and he took me to jail. And I was in jail for a few hours,” he said.
Bryan said he and the officer “eventually shook hands” and he apologized online “because I realized that my actions didn’t reflect who I was as a person.”
“I was just an idiot, and I’ll take the fall for it. I’m a grown man and I shouldn’t behave like that, and it won’t happen again,” he continued.
Bryan had previously posted a statement Sept. 7 acknowledging the arrest, writing, “Today I had an incident with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Emotions got the best of me and I was out of line in the things I said. … I am truly sorry to the officers.”
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and reps for Bryan did not immediately respond to TODAY.com’s request for comment.
Prior to his arrest, the singer posted a photo of his dog in the passenger seat of a car on his Instagram story.
“On the road again, gonna go see the birds win,” he wrote on the photo.
Just this week, Bryan’s song with Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything,” reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, per Billboard. The track is from his self-titled LP, which also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Last month, the singer-songwriter announced the tour dates for his 2024 “The Quittin Time Tour.” Additionally, on Sept. 6, he revealed on Instagram that more shows were added “to help curve the demand.”