KANSAS CITY, Missouri (AP) – R&B artist Trey Songz was arrested overnight after he fought with police during his arrest for failing to follow coronavirus protocols and other rules in the AFC championship game in Kansas City, police said. on Monday.
Songz, 36, whose name is Tremaine Aldon Neverson, was released on Monday pending an investigation, said Jackson County sheriff’s spokesman LeVanden Darks. No charges were filed.
Songz’s representative, Sydney Margetson, declined to comment on Monday.
Songz is a Grammy-nominated singer three times. He won his third No. 1 on the Billboard R&B album chart with “Back Home” last year. His other two albums at the top of the charts are “Trigga” and “Tremaine The Album”. He also appeared in films such as “Texas Chainshaw 3D”, “Baggage Claim” and starred in “Blood Brother” in 2018.
In October, Songz posted on Instagram that he had tested positive for COVID-19. He said he was taking the disease very seriously and asked fans to do the same.
Kansas City police said in a statement that fans at the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills game complained about a man who was not following protocols related to COVID-19 and other code of conduct rules for fans, who include not being disturbing, intoxicated, or using obscene language.
The statement did not identify the man as Songz and did not say exactly what rules he was breaking.
Police said the man refused to follow orders from private security guards at Arrowhead Stadium and was asked to leave. When he refused, Kansas City police officers and the Jackson County sheriff were called and he was told he would be arrested if he did not obey, the police said.
He punched a police officer and gave him an armbar, the police said.
TMZ released a video Monday, which showed Songz was not wearing a mask and fought several policemen before being taken handcuffed.
The video does not show how the confrontation started. Some fans may be heard shouting at the police to leave him alone.
The video shows at least one policeman without a mask and others with masks that do not completely cover the mouth and nose.
Kansas City police told the Associated Press that officers working on Chiefs games “meet all mask requirements”.
“He clearly had his mask on before he was attacked and put in an armbar,” KCPD spokeswoman Donna Drake said in an email.
Law enforcement officials said several agencies work on NFL games, making it difficult to know how many other fans may have been kicked out or arrested on Sunday.
Earlier this month, Songz was due to perform at a concert in Houston but the police closed it after seeing hundreds of people lining up to enter the site, which was supposed to be operating at 50% capacity.
In 2017, Songz was charged with criminal assault and assaulting a police officer after he was upset when he was told to end a performance in Detroit. Authorities said microphones and speakers were thrown off the stage during the show.
Songz pleaded guilty in August 2017 to two counts of disturbing the peace and was sentenced to 18 months of probation.