Colleen Campbell – the 28-year-old South Jersey woman who went off on a Philadelphia police officer outside Helium Comedy Club in an incident that was caught on video, posted on Facebook and went viral – said in a statement Wednesday that she is "ashamed and embarrassed" about what happened.
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Campbell, who graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism last year, has lost both her jobs as a freelance news producer at PHL17 and as a bartender at Devil's Den in South Philadelphia as a result of the obscene tirade, during which she told the officer to "lick her a--hole" and that "society hates" police. The rant occurred after she was ejected from the Center City venue Sunday night for allegedly being disruptive during a show.
The video was recorded by New York-based comic Wil Sylvince and had been viewed more than 3 million times by Wednesday morning.
Wayne Pollock, who is identified as a family spokesperson, said in the statement emailed early Wednesday morning to PhillyVoice that Campbell has received thousands of threatening calls and messages, ranging from "defamatory insults to deeply disturbing sexual and violent threats."
Campbell is now at home with her family, whose "highest priority is [her] health and well-being," the statement read.
The behavior portrayed in the video is not typical of Campbell, the statement said, and have led her to believe she may have been drugged. She apologized to the Philadelphia Police Department and staff at Helium.
"I am ashamed and embarrassed by my actions," Campbell wrote. "They were profane, inappropriate, and offensive. They do not reflect the person I am or how I was raised. The person in that video is not the real me."
Read the statement in full below:
I am ashamed and embarrassed by my actions. They were profane, inappropriate, and offensive. They do not reflect the person I am or how I was raised. The person in that video is not the real me.
I would like to apologize to the Philadelphia police officer who bore the brunt of my outburst, the entire Philadelphia Police Department for their patience, my former employers and coworkers whom I have let down, and my fellow patrons at Helium Comedy Club whose night out I might have disrupted.
My recollection of my time at Helium and the incident are hazy. Based on my on-air reporting career and my bartending jobs, I know my limits when it comes to drinking and I know to stay out of the limelight. My actions on that video are not the result of a handful of drinks spaced out over a couple of hours. I believe I may have been unknowingly drugged at some point that night. I did not receive medical testing while in custody because, as I recall, I was advised by personnel at the police station that such testing would delay the process of my being released.
I am hopeful that the Philadelphia police officer who dealt with me Sunday night will allow me to apologize to him in person and express to him how truly sorry I am for what transpired.
Pollock also included a statement of his own in the email. It read as follows:
Ms. Campbell is recovering in a secure, undisclosed location. From the time the video was made public, Ms. Campbell has been the recipient of thousands of lewd and threatening phone calls, texts, messages, and emails ranging from angry, profane, and defamatory insults to deeply disturbing sexual and violent threats. Ms. Campbell and her family are still sorting out the events of that night. Their highest priority is the health and well-being of Ms. Campbell.
Ms. Campbell and her family are in the process of reaching out to the Philadelphia Police Department in the hopes that the Philadelphia police officer in the video will allow Ms. Campbell to apologize to him personally.
Campbell is charged with resisting arrest, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, simple assault, failure to disperse, terroristic threats and related charges. She is due to appear in court next week.
Reached by phone Wednesday morning, Pollock said it had not been determined yet if he would be representing Campbell during her upcoming criminal proceedings. Pollock then emailed additional photos of Campbell, which are below.