UPDATE: Paul Simon, Edie Brickell Arrested For Domestic Violence In CT
April 28, 2014, 1:53 p.m.
The couple claims they are fine; Brickell added that she started the fight.
Singer-songwriters Paul Simon and Edie Brickell were both arrested in Connecticut Saturday night and charged with disorderly conduct following an "apparent domestic dispute."Update: The pair appeared in court; Simon said while holding his wife's hand, "Both of us are fine together. We had a fight. It's atypical... We’re going home together, and we’re going to watch our son play baseball."
According to the N.C. Advertiser, "A call to police about the incident at the couple’s New Canaan house was made about 8 p.m. Saturday night, police said. But details over what were not immediately released. New Canaan Police hold a weekly press briefing with local media late each Monday morning. Simon and Brickell, who have been married for more than 20 years, have lived in New Canaan with their three children for years."
The couple, who married in 1992, are expected to be arraigned in Norwalk today. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2011, Brickell said of Simon, "I’m very private about showing him anything because, to me, songwriting is a very spiritual kind of practice. It’s that evolving into your own, and that’s extremely important to me, to have that and to try to get into that sense of self-discovery. So he can’t be a part of that process. Even though I love and admire his work, and I feel that, of his generation, he has truly evolved—and I can’t say that for all. I’m very proud of him—proud to be associated with an artist who continues to evolve. I can only hope that for myself—but in order to do that, he can’t be in the process."
Update: Page Six reports, "Simon, 72, called police about 8:20 p.m. after Brickell started an argument that got out of hand, sources said." Brickell issued a statement through her lawyer, "I got my feelings hurt and picked a fight with my husband. The police called it disorderly. Thank God it’s orderly now."
No orders of protection were issued. At the courthouse, Simon said, "We had an argument which is atypical of us. Neither of us has any fear or any reason to feel threatened. I don’t feel like I need to be protected,” while Brickell said, "He’s no threat to me at all."
Still, New Canaan Chief of Police Leon Krolikowski explained to NBC Connecticut, "We sent officers to investigate, determined that there was an altercation and dispute and we had probable cause -- in fact we're obligated to make an arrest -- under Connecticut General statutes for domestic violence, which this case is considered. Subsequently, the arrests were made."
The case has been continued until May 16.
In a video of New Canaan Police Chief Leon Krolikowski speaking to the press, Krolikowski said that the police received a 911 hang-up call. No one spoke to the 911 operator, but the cops had the information about where the call was made from, so they went to check it out. Krolikowski, who said that he's had many interactions with them, "They are very nice people... Great people, it's unfortunate this occurred but we were obligated to make an arrest."
The incident apparently happened in a cottage on their property. Attorney Alan Cramer, who is representing both Simon and Brickell, said, "On a scale of 1 to 10, [the fight] was a 1."
Cramer did say there were "pushes" and Krolikowski had said they were "both victims."