Britney Spears was arrested at her home on Thursday evening after a three hour standoff with police over a custody dispute involving her young sons Sean Preston,2, and Jayden James, 1. She is being held on a 72 hour involuntary psychiatric hold and on suicide watch in a Los Angeles hospital.
Lynne Spears, when reached by phone, asked callers to pray for her daughter. She and daughter Jamie Lynn Spears returned to their Kentwood, Louisiana home after hearing about Britney’s hospitalization. The two had been secluded at an undisclosed location since the 16 years olds pregnancy hit the media.
Police were called to her home at 8:00pm Thursday evening after she refused to relinquish her two young sons to their father, Kevin Federline, who had sent two bodyguards to pick up the children. Their visit with Britney was to end at 7:00pm, as ordered by the courts.
When Los Angeles officers and Federline’s attorney, Mark Kaplan, arrived on the scene, they discovered that the combative Spears appeared to be under the influence of unknown substances and would not allowed officers to enter her home.
Police negotiated for hours with the pop star and eventually talked Spears into opening the door to her home so that they could enter and remove the children. She was strapped to a gurney, with her hands in restraints, and taken by ambulance, screaming and crying, to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center for evaluation to determine her physical and mental condition. A complete mental health assessment is standard procedure in this type of situation, as is a toxicology screening.
Keep reading – we’ve got video and photos of the entire episode.
Six police cars, an ambulance, fire engine and helicopter were on the scene during the three+ hour seige. The youngsters were also taken to Cedars-Sinai, by separate car, where they were also examined by medical personnel.
Once the health assessment is completed, she will likely have several options, including going to jail or entering herself into some kind of treatment program. It seems likely that Federline and his legal team will be holding another emergency court hearing today to rescind Spears visitation rights.
Earlier in the day, Spears arrived 90 minutes late for a court deposition. The questioning lasted 14 minutes before Spears said she had to get home for her court authorized visit with her sons. After the deposition, Federline’s attorney, Mark Kaplan, held a press conference and indicated they would take steps to sanction Spears for repeatedly circumventing the deposition, which has been rescheduled seven times.
Pictures include Britney Spears father and Kevin Federline as they arrive separately at the hospital.
CLICK HERE to see video of the events.