Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.
"They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment," Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to "Good Morning America." "They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We're prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options.""He was like, 'No, no, no, I'm fine," Packer said.
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences met Wednesday to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Smith for violations against the group's standards of conduct. Smith could be suspended, expelled or otherwise sanctioned. Without giving specifics, the academy said Smith was asked to leave the ceremony at the Dolby Theatre, but refused to do so.
On Monday, Smith issued an apology to Rock, the academy and to viewers, saying "I was out of line and I was wrong."
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