Here is a man who has apparently been arrested for intoxication in an unknown jurisdiction, disputing the charge from the back of a police cruiser by belting out a genuinely soulful rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Skip to 3:40 for "Scaramouche! Scaramouche!"

Arrested Drunk Guy Sings Bohemian Rhapsody (Thanks, Fipi Lele!)

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I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

MORE: booze • music • police • video • youtube

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http://twitter.com/BonzoDog1 BonzoDog1

Remembering the entire lyrics of “Bohemian Rhapsody” should be a part of every field sobriety test.
- http://boingboing.net/ The Life Of Bryan
  
  Agreed. No sober individual could recall the whole thing like that.
  - http://www.youtube.com/user/Freethinkersanon Christopher
    
    I think it may already be part of field sobriety tests in Europe, replacing their earlier test…
    
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unseSFWjuqs
    - http://illustratorhints.com/ Jesseham
      
      Can’t forget this one either:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTwZpym2Umk
      - Sparg
        
        I love Reno 911. How about this one for a DUI test?
        
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNn-6FzTimY
- OldBrownSquirrel
  
  A cop wants me to say, “Momma, just killed a man, put a gun against his head, pulled that trigger, now he’s dead.” Hmm.
  
  Upon consideration, I’m taking the Fifth.
http://davejohnston.myopenid.com/ DJ

That would be in Edson, Alberta. Props to RCMP for letting him finish in the garage…
- teknocholer
  
  Yes, but it would have been even more awesome if the officer(s) had joined in on “No, we will not let you go”.
Larry Rubinow

Looks suspiciously like Jonathan Coulton …
stumo

He mentions “RCMP” at the very end – Royal Canadian Mounted Police?

May well be a fake; if not, he was in the car for 40 min between the first and 2nd clip (or someone needs to get their clocks synchronised…) – but still rather well done!
franko

aside from being incredibly impressed that he remembered the whole thing, the ending is the best part. don’t skip anything.
- http://twitter.com/blindeschildpad Blinde Schildpad
  
  Yup. There are no situations in which that would not be one of the top 3 lines to use.
- MB44
  
  Skipping anything is the least of my priorities…
- waetherman
  
  I hope you’re referring to the last line of the song, which is where I think he goes from being a mediocre singer to being being a lyrical comedian with the longest setup of a joke, ever.
http://boingboing.net/ The Life Of Bryan

My girlfriend played this while getting ready for school this morning. I was deeply unamused. I know I’m not exactly Captain Keychange, but damn, dude.
http://twitter.com/blindelf Patrick Whited

Jim Lahey is a drunk bastard.
- http://ae4rv.com/ royaltrux
  
  I’m watching you, like a shithawk!
  - signsofrain
    
    They’re flyin’ in low!
- Piotr Piotrowski
  
  at least it wasn’t Randy singing
grimc

The Smoking Gun has an interview with the guy, a homebrewer/karaoke singer

http://www.thesmokinggun.com/buster/bohemian-rhapsody-viral-video-783541
autark

idiot… now they have him for copyright violation too! did he pay harry fox for that performance?
- EH
  
  The RCMP is on the hook for publishing the video. They’re probably gonna have to pay sync, too.
http://www.ourkids.net Our Kids Media

Not that soulful, to be honest.
davidwho

I really appreciate how the cop seemed to let him finish – the car was parked for most of the song.
teknocholer

Confessing to having just killed a man doesn’t show the soundest of judgement.
http://celesteagnes.blogspot.com/ Sekino

If I were one of the officers, I couldn’t possibly have resisted singing along. That’s some will power right there.

I just love how he totally chills after the song and placidly asks them if they need to cuff him.
- metafactory
  
  Definitely, the ending is the best part after the RCMP asks if he’s going to behave he replies in a great Alberta accent: “chuff, physical violence is the least of my priorities”
William Joseph Dunn

Kind of started to phone it in by the time he got to the “nothing really matters” part. Still better than American Idol though.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Gus-Mueller/1126894782 Gus Mueller

i wouldn’t be confessing a murder so openly in a police car if i were him. i’m sure scalia wouldn’t halt his execution
Diogenes

Please, somebody, autotune this and help the guy out! His heart was the right place even if his pitch wasn’t.
Editz

It’s David After Dentist in 20 years.
joojooinblue

EVEN THE RCMP!!!! lol – hilarious

“Physical violence is the least of my priorities….”

And no one knew this happened in Canada when it was first posted? lol
- awjt
  
  That was awesome
  
  “Physical violence is the least of my priorities….”
http://twitter.com/WillieIJ willie imara johnson

I was definitely singing along for the whole song. Respect for remembering the lyrics and mini guitar solos to this non “verse chorus verse chorus verse” song, while drunk.
Gainclone

“And they say he ran away… BRANDED!”

If it were The States, this fellow would have had the bejezus tased out of him before the song even began. Despite his inherent and Dude-like pacifism.
http://twitter.com/kpkpkp Kevin Pierce

With the elimination of their penny, we now anticipate Canadians giving a full nickle’s worth instead of the once-customary two-cents worth. Inflation, eh?
Sean F

Most cops are decent folk. It’s nice to see a civil interaction caught on tape.
- http://www.facebook.com/people/Sean-Burns/845868306 Sean Burns
  
  Maybe in CANADA they are. I’ve never seen an indication of decency in any of the cops I’ve encountered in the States.
snagglepuss

This is SO going in my covers rotation. Gotta check to see when the original charted….
http://twitter.com/WpgCameraMan Rock Hardwood

3:40 He’s channeling Andy from Parks & Rec.
http://www.facebook.com/people/Sean-Burns/845868306 Sean Burns

I understand he was found not guilty by reason of insanity. Singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” while arrested is now known in legal circles as “The Canadian Defense”.
http://onomadystopoeia.blogspot.com/ HUMUNGOUS

A drunkard is someone who is habitually drunk. In other words, an alcoholic. Although in this video this dude is apparently drunk, that does not make him a drunkard.
dicebourbon

Waited till I myself was drunk to watch this. Good stuff.
mithrastheprophet

I’m as charmed by the performance as the rest of you, but it might be worth noting that the guy was charged with DUI. Which, if true, put people other than himself in danger. Makes him no less funny but much less of a hero.
enlo

And now the video is removed because of copyright violation… seriously EMI?
- Felton / Moderator
  
  Fair use should definitely cover singing a song while drunk in the back of a police car. I’d put it under “educational purposes.”
Simeon

EMI hate fun

Drunkard's serenade: "Bohemian Rhapsody" from the back of a police car

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