Stubbly chinned Tim McGraw may be the one who keeps country singer Faith Hill warm at night ... but not on Saturday, June 3. McGraw, himself a popular country singer, spent the night in police custody after allegedly assaulting a sheriff's
deputy in Buffalo, N.Y. A second hat act, Kenny Chesney, was busted for riding off with a deputy's horse.
Both McGraw and Chesney had performed at the George Strait Country Music Festival in Buffalo. Shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday, Chesney got on the horse of Capt. James Coyle, the head of the local sheriff's mounted division. He asked the captain's daughter for permission first.
"After he got on the horse, he started to walk away with it," police chief Thomas Staebell said. "She told him to stop, but he wouldn't." Chesney took off across the parking lot of Ralph Wilson Stadium ignoring cries for him to stop.
Sgt. Mark Rokitka and deputy Art Litzinger suddenly found themselves in hot pursuit of the man best known for singing "You Had Me From Hello." The two finally caught up with the runaway country singer in their squad car and pulled Chesney from the horse.
Enter Tim McGraw and his entourage. Having just finished his set, McGraw came on the scene and allegedly attempted to administer a beat-down to the hapless lawmen tackling his friend. The two deputies were later treated for minor injuries.
"[Rokitka] reached up to get Chesney off the horse, and that's when [Litzinger] was assaulted by McGraw," Staebell told reporters. McGraw, Chesney, and McGraw's manager Mark Russo were restrained by the police.
Both singers are now out on bail. Chesney is charged with disorderly conduct, and McGraw is charged with second-degree assault, obstructing governmental administration, menacing, and resisting arrest. Russo is charged with obstructing governmental justice and resisting arrest.
The arrest will cast something of a pall over this month's TNN Music Awards. McGraw is nominated for Entertainer of the Year, Best Album for 1999's Place in the Sun album, and an Impact Award. The awards are due to be broadcast on June 15, but we will just have to see if McGraw shows up in prison stripes. Chesney is also nominated for a Top Male Artist gong at the awards.
Hill and McGraw are due to set out soon on their Soul 2 Soul tour. No, they won't be performing "Back to Life." But you can expect plenty of dewy-eyed duets between the couple. We hope McGraw won't punch any horses. The tour kicks off July 12 in Atlanta. More tour dates can be found by clicking here.
Ironically, the incident occurred a day after McGraw had picked up a Father of the Year award from the National Fatherhood Institute in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes McGraw's work in bringing up his two daughters with Hill, Gracie and Maggie. Not that there aren't plenty of other decent fathers out there. It's just that McGraw's a little more famous than you are.
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