Nashville authorities have determined that Chris Young did nothing wrong in a Jan. 22 scuffle between the country singer and Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents. However, not everyone appears to have gotten the memo.
Videos by American Songwriter
The “I’m Comin’ Over” star addressed online “trolls” in a TikTok video, breaking his silence on the incident that led to his arrest at the Dawg House, a bar in Nashville. The Nashville District Attorney’s office announced Jan. 27 that it would officially dismiss the charges of assault, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest made against the artist.
“For all the trolls saying ‘Don’t touch a cop,’ I didn’t touch him,” Young wrote alongside a clip of the security footage of the incident, which he posted to social media.
Young didn’t mince words in the video’s caption: “Stop coming at me.”
Tape Release Leads to Dismissed Charges Against Chris Young
Video evidence of the incident told a different story than the one listed in the arresting officer’s affidavit, prompting the Nashville district attorney to drop the charges against Young.
The arrest affidavit, obtained by The Tennessean, painted Young as the aggressor in the incident involving agents from the Alcoholic Beverage Commission. According to the arrest report, Young was enjoying a drink at the Nashville venue Tin Roof when agents arrived to perform compliance checks.
Young complied with the initial ID check, but then began questioning and videotaping the officers before following them next door to the Dawg House, the affidavit filing read.
“While walking out the door, Mr. Young put his hands out to stop me from leaving the bar and struck me on the shoulder,” the arresting officer wrote. “I then pushed Mr. Young to create distance since I had no idea who Mr. Young was or what he had.”
However, security footage from the bar seemed to contradict the authorities’ initial story. On the video, Young is seen approaching one of the agents before he is pushed to the ground by an officer. From there, Young appeared calm and tried to put distance between himself and the officers.
Chris Young’s Fans React
The Internet reacted to the news of Young’s arrest with a mix of skepticism and scorn.
“We all knew there was something missing with this story when it came out,” one TikTok user wrote in a comment on Young’s post. “Definitely not the Chris we all know and love. Glad the truth is out!”
Several users pointed out the amount of force the officer used on Young, commenting, “I hope your back is OK!”
Other comments were less forgiving: “Should have never touched the cop in the first place,” one user wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“Chris made contact with that officer first,” another X user wrote. “Chris was in the wrong.”
Photo: Jeff Johnson / Monarch Publicity
