Prosecutors on Friday dropped all charges filed against country singer Chris Young in connection with an altercation with an Alcoholic Beverage Commission agent at a Nashville bar.
“After reviewing all of the evidence in this case, the District Attorney’s Office has determined that these charges will be dismissed,” Nashville District Attorney Glenn R. Funk said. said in a statement.
Mr. Young, 38, was charged with disorderly conduct, assault on an officer and resisting arrest following the incident on Monday night.
“Mr. “Young and I are pleased with the prosecutor's decision to clear him of the charges and any wrongdoing,” Bill Ramsey, the musician's attorney, said in a statement.
The incident that led to the charges occurred while Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents were checking IDs at the DawgHouse Saloon, a downtown bar. According to an affidavit filed in Nashville criminal court, Mr. Young was accused of hitting one of the agents. The affidavit states that agents handcuffed Mr. Young after he failed to comply with their commands.
Mr Young's representatives previously shared surveillance footage showing the singer standing at the bar when agents walked past him.
As one of the agents in the video walks by, Mr. Young puts a hand on him, walks backwards with the agent and appears to say something. The agent pushes Mr. Young with both hands, causing Mr. Young to stumble backwards and hit his back against the corner of the bar table, causing him to momentarily fall to the floor, the video shows.
Then he stands up, raises both hands in the air and walks backwards away from the agents.
Mr. Young rose to fame after winning the country reality television competition “Nashville Star” in 2006, and his second album, “The Man I Want to Be,” released in 2009, reached platinum sales in the United States . He has been a fixture on the Billboard country charts ever since.
John Yoon and Orlando Mayorquin contributed reporting.