Off-duty cop arrested after he ‘choke slams’ man at Kid Rock concert, TN officials say
An off-duty Tennessee police officer attacked a man at a concert in Nashville after he was asked to sit down by other concertgoers, officials say.
Ronald Hobson, 56, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault, according to an arrest affidavit.
Hobson is a 20-year veteran of the Dickson Police Department where he is a captain in the Criminal Investigations/Narcotics Division, department chief Jeff Lewis said in a statement to McClatchy News. Hobson is on administrative leave pending the investigation into his charges.
Hobson was at the July 8 Kid Rock concert at Bridgestone Arena when numerous people asked him to stop standing and obstructing their views, according to an arrest affidavit. Witnesses told police that Hobson was standing at the front of section 102 at the show.
Witnesses said they saw a man approach Hobson and ask him to sit down, the affidavit said. Hobson and the man then had an argument.
Hobson then grabbed the man in what a witness described as an “’up and under’ restraint hold” before he “choke slammed” him down a set of stairs and over a railing, officials said in the affidavit. The witness said the man fell down at least five stairs and his head hit the concrete.
Once the man was on the ground, Hobson began kicking him, according to the affidavit. Officers said the man told them he sustained a head injury and a cut to the back of his head, and he was taken to the hospital.
Dickson is about 40 miles west of Nashville.
This story was originally published July 11, 2023 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Off-duty cop arrested after he ‘choke slams’ man at Kid Rock concert, TN officials say."
