Real Housewives of Atlanta star NeNe Leakes’ son let out a scream as officers placed him under arrest and In Touch has the exclusive police video.
In Touch obtained the bodycam video footage shot on July 3, 2023, the day the reality star’s oldest son, Bryson Bryant, was arrested for possession of Fentanyl.
Police were called out to a neighborhood around 1 a.m. where Bryson, 34, was hanging out.
The officers grilled NeNe’s son about why he was there. He told them he knew a homeowner on the street.
Bryson sat on the street as officers questioned him. As In Touch previously reported, Bryson told officers his name was Brentt Leakes, the name of NeNe’s younger son.
During questioning officers told Bryson they saw a bag of white powder inside the car. Another officer threatened to break the car window if Bryson didn’t hand over the keys.
“There is plain view evidence in there. We have every reason to go in,” one officer said.
After asking him repeatedly, officers told Bryson, who called him ‘Mr. Leakes,’ to stand up and put his hands behind his back. Bryson was heard letting out various sounds as the handcuffs were placed on him. He kept telling the officers, “I’m standing up.”
At one point, he said “Goddamn” to express the pain of the handcuffs.
The officer who led Bryson to the car then asked him, “Why are you wet?” Bryson’s answer was inaudible.
As In Touch previously reported, Bryson was hit with two charges over the arrest. The first was Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance and the second was giving a false name to officers.
The arrest triggered a probation violation in a separate case, which led to Bryson being stuck behind bars for months.
He was let out in October 2023.
Following his release, Bryson pleaded not guilty to the recent charges.
He eventually reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
Bryson agreed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of Giving False Information to a Law Enforcement Officer.
The court sentenced Bryson to 12 months probation and ordered him to pay a $500 fine. Bryson was ordered to complete 40 hours of community service and has to comply with random drug tests requested by his probation officer. The judge did not sentence Bryson to jail time.
The judge also ordered NeNe’s son to undergo an evaluation and/or treatment for substance abuse.
He was instructed not to consume alcoholic beverages or use illegal drugs.
Bryson’s attorney, Dominko C. Rumph, tells In Touch, “Mr. Bryant’s criminal case was resolved in May of 2024 via a misdemeanor guilty plea to Giving a False Name.”
After reviewing the evidence presented by the State during discovery, it was determined that police likely did not have reasonable articulable suspicion to conduct the traffic stop that is shown in the body camera footage,” he continued.
Dominko added, “After negotiating with the District Attorney’s Office, the State and the defense ultimately agreed that there was a high probability that the case would be dismissed if it were to proceed to a hearing on a Motion to Suppress.”
In regard to the bodycam footage, he said, “Although we are aware of the statements by Mr. Bryant as shown in the body camera footage, we cannot speak to the veracity of the statements. We can emphatically state that the statements had no bearing on the ultimate resolution of Mr. Bryant’s case.”
He ended, “Mr. Bryant is not a witness in any ongoing criminal matters nor are we aware of any subsequent investigations, arrests, or prosecutions conducted in connection with the statements made by Mr. Bryant during his interaction with police.”
Following his arrest, NeNe spoke out about her son’s issues. NeNe, 56, said, “He needs a lot of counseling. Like many families out there, I have family members that are struggling with drugs and certain addictions. He has an addiction,” she said. “He’s been in rehab for a couple of times and he still has come back out and relapsed.”
“I’ve spent so much money on trying to get Bryson where he needs to be,” she added.
She continued, “So until Bryson is ready to make a change, it’s nothing I [can] do.”
