Country Singer Chris Young Arrested for Assaulting Officer; Security Footage Raises Questions

Singer/songwriter Chris Young performs during a stop of the Raised on Country World Tour 2019 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Aug. 17, 2019. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Country music star Chris Young was arrested on Monday night at a Nashville bar, but a newly surfaced security video from inside the bar is raising questions about what happened.

According to the arrest affidavit, Mr. Young has been charged with disorderly conduct, assaulting an officer, and resisting arrest following an alleged physical altercation with two agents of the Tennessee Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC) at the DawgHouse Saloon, a bar located in Nashville’s popular Music Row neighborhood.

The affidavit said that the TABC agents arrived at the Tin Roof bar at around 8:30 p.m. for a compliance check and encountered Mr. Young sitting at the bar. After the officers checked his ID, the country singer began questioning and filming the agents. He and a group of friends then followed the two into the DawgHouse next door.

When the TABC agents finished their compliance checking at DawgHouse and looked to leave the location, Mr. Young allegedly laid hands on one of them and “struck” him on the shoulder, per the affidavit. The stricken agent then pushed the singer away to create distance between them; at this point, another bar patron intervened.

When the other agent approached Mr. Young and tried to speak to him, the singer allegedly “began yelling and screaming,” refusing to follow the directions. The two agents then “physically detained” Mr. Young in handcuffs, according to the affidavit, and some of the singer’s friends grew “hostile” and followed them out of the bar.

The affidavit also described the “Getting You Home” singer’s speech as “slurred,” adding that his “eyes were bloodshot and watery.”

Security Footage Contradicts Officers’ Claims

New security camera footage from the alleged incident, obtained and shared to social media by Nashville’s NewsChannel 5, appears to tell a different story than the arrest affidavit.

In one video clip shared by NewsChannel5 on social media, Mr. Young can be seen wearing a black leather jacket, blue jeans and a black hat as he waits in line with others inside the DawgHouse bar. While the affidavit claims that Mr. Young “struck” one of the TABC officers on the shoulder when they were leaving, the video seems to show him reaching out to one of the agents, who then appears to shove the singer, knocking him out of balance and to the floor.

The 38-year-old musician then gets up, puts his hands in the air, and steps away from the agents while other patrons come between him and the agents. The video ends with the other agent moving in to speak with Mr. Young.

A second video captures the same moment but from a different angle.

Citing the video evidence, an attorney representing Mr. Young demanded that the TABC drop the charges and apologize to his client.

“What happened to my client Chris Young at a bar in Nashville on Monday night was wrong, and he never should have been arrested and charged in the first place,” Bill Ramsey, the musician’s attorney, said in a statement to Billboard.

“In light of the video evidence, Tennessee ABC needs to drop the charges and apologize for the physical, emotional and professional harm done towards my client.”

According to NewsChannel 5 reporter Nick Beres, who shared the security footage on Facebook, Mr. Young’s lawyer claimed that the Season 4 winner of Nashville Star was trying to ensure the two were real TABC agents.

“All his client wanted to do was to confirm the identity of the men—who were not in obvious uniforms ... and ask about the photo of his ID,” Mr. Beres wrote on Facebook. “The video does not appear to show Young strike the agent in the shoulder ... rather, he reaches out.”

The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission did not respond to The Epoch Times’ request for comment.