Justin Bieber Scuffles With Photog: Now Cops Want to Talk

selenagomez.com

We're not sure when, exactly, Justin Bieber joined the world of Lindsay Lohan -- that dark side where your work takes a back seat to your run-ins with paparazzi and the law -- but it might have been this weekend.

The skinny, barely legal singer who would lose in a face off with a strong wind is suddenly a wanted man.

L.A. County sheriff's officials over the weekend said they'd like to talk to Biebs and any other witnesses:

Sheriff's officials say they got a call from a paparazzo early Sunday afternoon: He claimed Bieber committed misdemeanor battery on him after he took pictures of the singer and girlfriend Selena Gomez at the Commons at Calabasas Shopping Center.

View Larger Map

According to a sheriff's statement:

Shortly after deputies arrived, they contacted a man who told deputies that as he took pictures of Mr. Bieber, who was also in the company of actress Selena Gomez, he was physically battered by the singer. The man stated that Mr. Bieber left the [scene] with Miss Gomez prior to deputies' arriving on-scene.

TMZ cites witnesses who alleged that the photog blocked Bieber's ride with his own car: Biebs got out and asked the shooter to let him pass.

Perhaps he communicated with his dainty fists. Maybe he didn't.

After the confrontation, the wits said that the photog was coached by a lawyer who encouraged him to call cops and seek medical treatment, which he did, according to sheriff's officials.

In any case, a casting call for information about the confrontation has gone out via the L.A. County Sheriff's Department, and investigators would like Biebs himself to star in this production.

However, that doesn't mean that the story will end with Bieber's downfall: Deputies could actually end up exonerating him if they find out the photog's story was just a ruse to shake up Biebs' money tree.

We'll see.

[Update at 1:41 p.m.]: This will probably break the internets: The L.A. County Sheriff's Department just issued a statement indicating that Biebs will come in and give his side of the story:

Detectives have interviewed the alleged victim, will interview witnesses and are planning to interview Mr. Bieber.

Stay tuned.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]