DETROIT (CN) – A photographer and a police officer filed a federal lawsuit against Trey Songz, claiming the rapper assaulted them after becoming irate at a concert in Detroit.
The complaint, filed Monday in Detroit federal court by lead attorney Eric Simpson with the Mike Morse Law Firm, claims Songz, real name Tremaine Neverson, was angered when his lights and microphone were cut at the end of the evening before he felt his performance at the Joe Louis Arena in December 2016 was finished.
“If a nigga cut me off I’m goin’ the fuck crazy,” Neverson allegedly yelled to the crowd.
Photographer Andrew Potter and Detroit police officer Robert Avery, who was working security at the show, claim Neverson threw sound equipment off the stage, jumped into the crowd and pushed past concertgoers only to return to the stage, where he threw a microphone that hit Potter in the head.
The injury required hospitalization, according to the complaint.
After the incident, Neverson resisted police officers who were dispatched to his dressing room to arrest him for inciting the violence, the lawsuit states.
“Fuck you cracker white mother fuckers!” Neverson allegedly exclaimed. “Fuck all you honkeys and fuck the police!”
According to the complaint, “During the officers’ attempt to take defendant into custody, defendant struck plaintiff, Robert Avery, on the right side of his face with a closed fist. Defendant continued to intentionally and physically resist the officers’ efforts to secure his hands in handcuffs and, during the struggle, defendant landed on top of plaintiff, Robert Avery, on the ground, causing Mr. Avery to strike his head on the concrete and injure his hip.”
Potter and Avery say Neverson even refused to cooperate during the booking process, flashing a middle finger in his mug shot that was included in the lawsuit.
Neverson was charged with assault over his actions at the concert. The complaint notes several social media videos about disdain for police that were admitted into the criminal proceeding because of their relevance.
The rapper pleaded guilty last August to two reduced counts of disturbing the peace and was sentenced to 18 months of probation with substance screening and anger-management classes required.
"I'd just like to give my apologies to the city of Detroit," Neverson said at the time.
An attorney for Potter and Avery declined to comment further on the lawsuit.
Neverson’s lawyer Shawn Holley did not immediately respond Tuesday to an email request for comment.
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