opinion
Last week, we reported that country music star Chris Young was arrested at a bar in Nashville, Tennessee and charged with assault on an officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct. But now, Young has emerged victorious as all charges against him have been dropped.
Charges against Young dropped
The Nashville District Attorney's Office announced on Friday that all charges against Young would be dropped “after reviewing all of the evidence in this case,” Entertainment Tonight reported.
This evidence included video footage that showed Young placing his hand on the shoulder of a Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent, who then pushed him into a table, causing the singer to fall backwards.
“Both Young and I are relieved by the district attorney’s decision clearing him of the charges and any wrongdoing,” Young’s attorney, Bill Ramsey, said in a statement.
After Young's arrest, Ramsay called on agents to “apologise for the physical, emotional, and professional harm my client suffered,” according to ABC News.
WSMV reported that Young, 38, was arrested last Monday night after an altercation with Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents who were completing a compliance inspection around 8:30 p.m. at the Tin Roof on Demonbreun Street, where Young was sitting at the bar. After the agents verified his identity, Young followed them and began asking questions while she was recording.
Young eventually reached out to stop them from leaving and “hit” one of them in the shoulder, the agents alleged. This caused the agents to push Young harder, causing him to fall into the chair and onto the floor. It took two agents to physically detain Young and bring him into custody.
RELATED: Footage of country music star Chris Young's arrest 'may undermine' police version of events, experts warn
Legal experts weigh in
However, legal experts were quick to say that the surveillance footage could “undermine” the agents' version of events.
“The fact that the officer apparently said…in his affidavit that he was beaten…that's not what appears to have happened,” Devin McRae, a partner at Early Sullivan Wright Gizer & McRae LLP, told Fox News. “So, that could undermine the entirety of his affidavit, not just with respect to those details, but everything else around it.”
“He's basically the best evidence of what happened, not someone trying to testify to what happened based on what he remembers,” he added. “So the jury can see what really happened.
Brian M. Sullivan, a partner in the same firm, agreed with McRae.
“Videos, if authenticated and accepted into evidence, can be very powerful for a jury because they give the jury a basis for making their own decision about the reliability of what witnesses and participants remember,” he explained. “In general, it is human nature, people tell their version of events that makes them appear in the best possible light.”
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McRae came back to admit that the surveillance footage was still causing some “problems.”
“There may be some problems with completion because we don't know what happened before or after,” he warned. “Monitoring only shows that part of him.”
Young became a household name after winning the “Nashville Star” singing competition in 2006, and his debut single “Drinkin' Me Lonely” became a hit. He has released eight studio albums, and his next album, “Young Love & Saturday Nights,” is scheduled to be released on March 22.
Do you think Young has been acquitted following the dismissal of the charges against him? Let us know in the comments section.
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