Charges against country music star Chris Young have been dropped, less than a week after an alleged confrontation with police at the DawgHouse Saloon in Nashville.
“After a review of all the evidence in this case, the District Attorney's Office has determined that these charges will be dismissed,” Nashville Lawyer Dist. Glenn Funk announced on Friday in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The “I'm Comin' Over” and “Famous Friends” musician is gearing up for the March release of his ninth studio album, “Young Love & Saturday Nights.”
The alleged incident occurred Monday night at the Nashville hot spot.
The 38-year-old singer-songwriter was approached by Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents who were conducting compliance checks at the neighboring Tin Roof bar around 8:30 p.m., according to a copy of the arrest affidavit reviewed by The Times. .
Young presented his identification to officers, who scanned it and returned it to him, according to the report. She asked some questions. Young and several friends then followed the officers to the DawgHouse Saloon.
“As I was walking out the door, Mr. Young put his hands out to stop me from leaving the bar and punched me in the shoulder,” an officer wrote in the affidavit. “I then pressured Mr. Young to create distance, as he had no idea who Mr. Young was or what he had.”
The bar patrons began to scream. They surrounded the officers, “making the incident hostile,” the affidavit says.
Young was handcuffed and taken into custody. He was charged with assaulting an officer, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, all misdemeanor charges.
In surveillance footage provided by Young's attorney, Bill Ramsey, and reviewed by The Times, Young appeared to extend his left hand to try to stop one of the officers passing him. An officer pushed him, throwing the singer-songwriter against a high table. Both Young and a stool fell over.
Prosecutors reviewed the video.
“Mr. Young and I are pleased with the district attorney's decision clearing him of the charges and any wrongdoing,” Ramsey said in a statement Friday.
The country singer rose to fame in 2006 after winning the country music reality competition “Nashville Star.” Her second studio album, “The Man I Want To Be,” released in 2009, went platinum. She also enjoyed hits with Kane Brown in “Famous Friends” and with Mitchell Tenpenny in “At the End of the Bar.”
The DawgHouse, on Demonbreun Street in Nashville, serves fried pickles, a catfish basket, and the Nash Smash burger.
