Felony battery charges against known woman-beater Chris Brown were dropped last week following a 2017 incident at a Tampa nightclub, where police say the singer “sucker punched” a staff photographer.
A court spokesperson confirmed to WTSP that the state of Florida has dropped the battery charge on Brown last Friday, August 16. The spokesperson did not say exactly why the charges were dropped.
The alleged attack happened in April of 2017 during an after hours event at AJA Channelside (which is now closed, and is the future space of Park & Rec Tampa), where the singer was apparently angry that the club’s in-house photographer was taking photos.
"Incidents like the ones caused by Chris Brown and his team are very sad to see," AJA wrote on their Facebook page after the incident. "As everyone witnessed he showed up to the club at around 1:30am. After only a few minutes of being there, Chris Brown himself and his team assaulted our club photographer and proceeded to walk out of the venue. AJA Channelside and our employees apologize for the inconvenience. Assault charges were pressed and we are dealing with the proper authorities accordingly."
In July, the singer was arrested following a performance in West Palm Beach on an outstanding warrant from Hillsborough County, and was later released on a $2,000 bail.
Brown, who pleaded guilty in 2015 to beating then girlfriend Rihanna and served a total of 5 years of probation, has a long history of various assault charges, but the singer has now had two major cases against him dropped this year. Last January, charges were also dropped against Brown after allegations of aggravated rape and drug violations in Paris, France.
Brown will return for another Tampa show this August 31, at Amalie Arena.
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