Canadian actor Kiefer Sutherland was arrested in Los Angeles this week after city police responded to a report of an alleged assault involving a ride-hail driver.
Sutherland, 59, is accused of assaulting the driver after entering a ride-hail vehicle. Police allege Sutherland “made criminal threats toward the victim,” while noting that the driver did not sustain any injuries that required medical treatment.
Sutherland was taken into custody on suspicion of criminal threats, police said.
He was released from jail a few hours later on a $50,000 bond and is set to appear in Los Angeles Superior Court on Feb. 2, according to jail records.
The Epoch Times contacted Sutherland’s representatives for comment on the incident but did not receive a response prior to publication.
Sutherland has a history of arrests and struggles with alcohol. He was convicted in 2004 for driving under the influence and has faced several additional alcohol-related arrests dating back to 1989.
He was arrested for driving under the influence in 2007 after making an illegal U-turn in Hollywood while still on probation for the 2004 incident. He was handed a 48-day jail sentence after pleading no contest to the drunk driving charge.
Sutherland was also arrested in 2009 for allegedly head-butting Jack McCollough, the founder of Proenza Schouler, at the Mercer Hotel in Manhattan. The charges were dismissed after Sutherland and McCollough released a joint statement in which the Canadian actor apologized.
Sutherland is best known for his starring role as federal agent Jack Bauer on the Fox TV thriller “24,” a role that earned him both a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as for his portrayal of President Tom Kirkman in the ABC political drama “Designated Survivor.”
He also starred in “The Lost Boys” and “Young Guns” and acted in “Stand by Me” and “A Few Good Men,” two films directed by mentor and friend Rob Reiner.
He is the son of Canadian actor and Hollywood legend Donald Sutherland and well-known stage actress Shirley Douglas, also a Canadian. His maternal grandfather was former Saskatchewan Premier Tommy Douglas who went on to lead the federal NDP and is known for bringing universal health care to Canada.
Sutherland has grappled with several losses in the past five years beginning with his mother’s death in 2020 and his father, who died at the age of 88 in 2024. Last month, he publicly commemorated Reiner, who died in December 2025.
