Chris Brown is facing a second lawsuit over an assault he and his entourage allegedly carried out backstage against four concertgoers in Fort Worth, Texas last weekend, with a security guard hired for the event now claiming that he was injured trying to stop the violence.
In the new suit, filed in Harris County District Court on Wednesday and obtained by Rolling Stone, Frederick Overpeck — who said he was hired to lead back house security for Dickies Arena — claimed that he saw Brown throw the first punch at one of the four plaintiffs who first sued Brown on Monday. Overpeck tried to intervene, the suit alleges, but he was thrown out of the way.
Like Monday’s suit, the new complaint names Brown, several members of his entourage, and concert promoter Live Nation as defendants, with the listed causes of action being assault and battery, negligence/gross negligence, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Overpeck is seeking $15 million in damages.
“This was an unprovoked attack and Chris Brown not only directed it, he threw the first punch,” Overpeck’s attorney Tony Buzbee, who is also representing the plaintiffs in the original complaint, tells Rolling Stone in a statement. “We will use the full force and weight of the court system to obtain justice here.”
In the suit, Overpeck claims he saw one of the plaintiffs, Larry Parker, try to escape Brown and the crew by running down a stairwell, trapped by a locked door. Per the complaint, Overpeck, a former correctional officer, described the incident as a “prison yard beat down.”
“Plaintiff, attempting to do all he could to prevent the violence, got himself in between the victim Parker and most of the attackers,” the suit reads. “Unfortunately, the attackers, to include Brown, did not stop the violence. They instead continued to kick and stomp victim Parker, and in the process repeatedly kicked Plaintiff as well, severely injuring him. Notably, one of Brown’s crew launched his 300 plus pound body on top of Parker and the Plaintiff, before finally being drug off.
A rep for Brown did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment. Live Nation declined to comment on Wednesday.
Eventually, Overpeck helped Parker escape through the locked door, per the lawsuit. Overpeck was taken off work by his doctor, according to the complaint, with injuries including “not only a severely injured hip, but also a diagnosed cracked vertebrae in his neck.”
The new lawsuit comes two days after Parker and three other plaintiffs — Joseph Lewis, Charles Bush, and DaMarcus Powell — filed a $50 million lawsuit over claims that they were all assaulted by Brown and entourage members Sinko Seej, Omololu Akinlolu (AKA Hood Boss), and Markies Conway (AKA Yella Beezy).
The original suit detailed claims that the four plaintiffs were invited backstage after Brown’s concert, and that Bush later approached Brown to shake his hand and congratulate him on the show. Seej allegedly spoke out to remind Brown that he and Bush were beefing, and Brown then told his entourage to “fuck ’em up.”
The alleged assault in Fort Worth is the latest in a long line of controversies and allegations of violence that Brown has faced, including pleading guilty to brutally beating his then-girlfriend Rihanna. Since then, he has been accused of at least 20 more acts of misconduct including sexual and physical assaults.
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