NEED TO KNOW
- Tara Reid is speaking out after police closed an investigation into her claims that her drink was tampered with
- Reid, who was hospitalized Nov. 23, alleged that she was drugged while at a Chicago-area hotel bar
- “That was the scariest feeling I have ever felt,” the actress previously told PEOPLE in a statement of waking up in a hospital
Tara Reid has broken her silence after police ended their investigation into her claim that she was drugged.
A spokesperson for the Rosemont Police in Illinois tells PEOPLE the case was closed as of Dec. 11 after “no other evidence” had come forward or been discovered since the department released a previous statement saying they found no evidence of the alleged drugging.
Police had already “spoken to everyone involved,” says the spokesperson, and there was “nothing outstanding,” so the decision was made to close the investigation.
“We don’t want to say what she’s claiming is false,” the spokesperson says, noting there were periods of time “not seen” on surveillance footage. However, they could only examine the evidence they had, which did not, in their estimation, show proof of drugging: “That’s all we can do,” says the spokesperson.
Reid is now speaking out, calling the experience “truly heartbreaking,” in an interview with the Daily Mail published on Wednesday, Dec. 17.
“All of the bullying I have been subjected to since and everyone twisting reality without the facts they weren’t even there to witness is truly affecting my mental health and I need it to stop,” she continued.
Michael Tullberg/Getty Images
The Rosemont Public Safety Department told PEOPLE on Dec. 3 that the surveillance footage does not indicate that Reid, 50, was drugged at the hotel on Nov. 23. That night, the American Pie actress was taken to a hospital on a stretcher from a Chicago-area hotel.
“Bottom line is no one ends up in the hospital incapacitated for over eight hours after a drink,” Reid previously told PEOPLE in a response via her rep.
Reid claimed the “last thing” she remembered was “having one drink and waking up in the hospital the next day without remembering anything.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Speaking with the Daily Mail, Reid claimed that the surveillance footage doesn’t show her at the bar the whole time, adding that 33 minutes of the surveillance footage is unaccounted for.
“They are making it seem like I chugged all this wine at once and ended up on a stretcher but after reviewing the footage that is not what happened at all,” Reid said. “In fact I witnessed in the footage when I arrived back from smoking with the person I only took one sip of wine in over 30 mins and when the bartender asked me if I wanted another drink I signalled no because I still had a drink I didn’t barely touch.”
She told the outlet that she was informed the case was closed due to a lack of evidence; however, police would follow up if she provided any additional information.
The Rosemont Public Safety Department said in its Dec. 3 statement that video footage from the hotel did not “show anyone tampering with or adding something to [Reid’s] drink,” though they confirmed “that a bartender covered her drink when she left the bar, which is standard practice for bartenders to do.”
Reid originally claimed in a Nov. 25 police report that she “completely blacked out” after having a drink with a stranger while staying at the DoubleTree hotel.
Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
On Dec. 4, Rosemont police released audio of a 911 call made shortly after midnight on Nov. 23, in which a caller reported that Reid could “barely stand” and needed “help from the hospital” as she laid on the floor of a hallway in a hotel.
In the recording obtained by PEOPLE, the caller — who appeared to be a staff member at the DoubleTree Chicago O’Hare Airport – Rosemont, where Reid was staying at the time — tells the dispatcher, “She can barely stand. She can barely sit in a wheelchair. She’s not responding. Sometimes she’s giving unresponsive answers.”
Reid is heard slurring words in the background of the call. As a rep for Reid told PEOPLE of the audio, “If you had been drugged would you not also sound this way?”
Reid told the Daily Mail she was disappointed that her hospital test results don’t indicate that she was given blood alcohol content test.
“I was never even given an IV,” she alleged. “I also read in the medical records that I was in such a bad state that I was screaming for help scared and didn’t know where I was and at around 3am I fell out of my hospital bed and they had to take me to get a CT scan. I do not remember any of this.”
She said she is speaking out after being ridiculed online.
“To imagine how terrifying it would be as a woman having some wine and then waking up in the hospital with no clothes on in a gown after 12 hours not having any idea of what happened to me only to see that videos of the state I was in are all over the world,” she told the Daily Mail. “If you could watch the hour and 21 minutes of video you would understand something obviously wasn’t right.”
She thanked her supporters, stating in part, “Because I do not remember the events it would be impossible for me to. And I would never want to falsely accuse anyone of something like this unless I absolutely knew which is why I filed the police report so maybe they could find some answers.”
Reid said she “learned a lot” from the experience and hoped that “at the very least,” it brings “more awareness to this ongoing problem that happens to men and women across the world. And that everyone is a little more careful because of my experience. I truly hope my story can help save someone.”
Read the full article here
