Chris Young, the country music singer, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, assaulting an officer and resisting arrest after an altercation at a bar in Nashville on Monday night, authorities said.
While Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents were examining IDs at a downtown Nashville bar, Young, 38, punched one of the agents, according to an arrest affidavit filed in Nashville criminal court. The officers handcuffed Mr. Young after he did not comply with their orders, he said.
Young had his breakthrough when he won the country music reality television competition “Nashville Star” in 2006. His second album, “The Man I Want to Be,” released in 2009, went platinum in the United States. Since then he has been a fixture on the Billboard country charts.
Young's attorney, Bill Ramsey, said in an emailed statement that what happened to his client “was wrong and he should never have been arrested and charged in the first place.”
Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents arrived at a bar called the Tin Roof around 8:30 p.m. to check the IDs of patrons, including Mr. Young, according to the arrest affidavit. After the check, Mr. Young began asking questions of the officers, who said they answered, and began videotaping them.
The officers left and continued to a bar next door, called the DawgHouse Saloon. The arrest affidavit said Mr. Young and his friends followed them and began talking to people there. When the officers finished their compliance checks, Young attempted to stop one of the officers from leaving and punched him in the shoulder, according to the affidavit.
Surveillance footage from DawgHouse Saloon shared by Mr. Young's representatives showed that Mr. Young was standing next to the bar, wearing gray pants and a black jacket, when officers walked past him.
As one of the officers passed by, Young put his hand on him, walked back with the officer and apparently said something, according to the video. The officer then pushed Mr. Young with both hands, and Mr. Young staggered back and hit his back on a corner of the bar table, causing him to briefly fall, as the video shows.
Mr. Young then stood up, raised both hands in the air and walked away from the officers.
The Liquor Commission said the beaten officer, Joseph Phillips, pushed Mr. Young to create distance, then other customers got up to intervene. Another officer attempted to speak with Mr. Young, who did not comply with commands, according to the affidavit. Then the agents detained him.
The affidavit described Mr. Young as having “difficulty speaking” and his eyes were “bloodshot and watery.” He also said the people who were with Mr Young were “making the incident hostile”.
Ramsey said that in light of the video captured at the bar, the Liquor Commission needed to drop the charges and “apologize for the physical, emotional and professional harm caused” to Mr Young.
Mr. Young was subsequently arrested and released on bail of $250 on the disorderly conduct charge, $1,000 on the resisting arrest charge and $1,250 on the assault charge, according to clerk of court reports. Nashville prison. He is expected to appear in court on February 16.
Aimee Ortiz and Eduardo Medina contributed reports.
