This morning, Billings Chief of Police Rich St. John appeared on our sister station, News-Talk 95.5 to publicly address last week's incident involving R+B singer Jeremih and his entourage at the West End Fuddruckers.

Chief St. John would not confirm when, or if, the department will file criminal charges.  However, he did acknowledge that video evidence clearly shows the artist and his crew assaulting Fuddruckers and causing "minor property damage".  Chief St. John also refuted public comments attributed to Jeremih which accused Fuddruckers' staff of racism, praising the staff and the restaurant for their service to the community.

St. John then addressed what he characterized as "ridiculous allegations" that the delayed police response time to the incident was somehow related to the recent failure of the department's sponsored Public Safety Levy.

Police responded to the call from Fuddruckers employees over two hours after the incident occurred.  St. John stated that there were 9 officers on duty that evening. all of whom were busy on other calls when the altercation was reported.  St. John also cited an accident that was blocking traffic as another reason for the delay.

St. John then suggested that "this type of entertainment" poses additional problems for police.  He inferred that unruly audiences for hip hop and R+B concerts often create extra "calls for service".  The Chief cited several disturbances that were reported by Jeremih's fans following his abbreviated performance at the Shrine Auditorium that evening.

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