Embattled R&B star Chris Brown, members of his entourage and Live Nation are facing another civil lawsuit stemming from a fight that broke out backstage after his July 19 concert in Fort Worth, Texas.
Frederick Overpeck, 58, a staff member and head of backhouse security at Dickies Arena, filed a $1-million lawsuit this week in Harris County District Court, alleging that he was “severely injured attempting to protect the four fans from Chris Brown and his entourage,” according to the plaintiff’s attorney Tony Buzbee.
“Mr. Overpeck, who witnessed the attack, alleges that the first punch was thrown by Chris Brown and that Brown directed the violence that occurred,” Buzbee said in a statement to The Times. “Mr. Overpeck is receiving treatment for a cracked vertebrae in his neck and now cannot work. We hope to have the video that captured the violence very soon.”
Overpeck’s case “arises from a violent assault perpetuated by a troubled recording artist with a checkered and violent past,” court documents said. Buzbee, who recently represented Rebecca Grossman in her Los Angeles murder trial, was quick to point out Brown’s past run-ins with the law and that members of his entourage are “known felons” and gang members. His client is suing them for alleged assault and battery, negligence, gross negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The former corrections officer, who works as a security supervisor as a second job, described the altercation between Brown’s entourage and fans as a “prison yard beat down” that occurred “without justifiable provocation.” He said Brown and his paid entourage “brutally and severely beat four fans who were attending a VIP meet and greet.”
Those four fans — Larry Parker, Joseph Lewis, Charles Bush and Damarcus Powell — filed a $50-million lawsuit against Brown, his entourage and Live Nation on Monday and were granted a temporary restraining order.
They also sought a temporary injunction barring the defendants — Brown, Live Nation, Sinko Ceej, Hood Boss and Yella Beezy — from deleting or tampering with documents and data relating to the July 19 incident, according to court documents obtained by The Times.
In the new lawsuit, Overpeck alleges that while he was working security at Brown’s “11:11” concert, he saw Brown throw the first punch and attempted to intervene to stop the violence. But Overpeck was “instead thrown out of the way, while at the same time Brown yelled racial slurs, demanding that his entourage join in and beat the four fans,” the lawsuit said.
“One of the fans being beaten, Larry Parker, while trying to escape, somehow made it into a stairwell and was cornered by the group, falling to the floor into a fetal position,” the lawsuit said, echoing the lawsuit that was brought against the defendants earlier this week. “Brown, and others, chased Parker down, surrounded him, and began to kick and stomp him. [Overpeck], attempting to do all he could to prevent the violence, got himself in between the victim Parker and most of the attackers.
“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 [Overpeck] 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,” the lawsuit said.
Overpeck “narrowly escaped” and helped Parker escape the “brutal assault,” the lawsuit said, and the security staffer’s actions “likely prevented further injury or even death to those who were the targets of Brown’s ire.” Per the documents, Overpeck suffered “crippling neck injuries,” is unable to work and will need to undergo “extensive medical treatment for the damages he suffered in the attack, including his neck, back and hip.”
Representatives for Brown and Live Nation did not immediately respond Thursday to The Times’ requests for comment.
