Royal Trux’s Neil Michael Hagerty Has Denver Criminal Charges Dismissed

Last year, Royal Trux’s Neil Michael Hagerty was involved in an incident with police officers in Denver that led to an arrest and criminal charges. The musician was accused of ripping off an officer’s badge and using it to cut another officer; he also allegedly tried to remove an officer’s weapon from its holster. As a result of the alleged incident, Hagerty was charged with three felonies: one count of assaulting a police officer and two counts of attempting to disarm a police officer.

Nearly a year after his arrest, the criminal charges against Hagerty have been dropped, The Denver Post reports.

In a statement shared with Pitchfork, Hagerty’s attorney, David M. Beller, wrote:

Mr. Hagerty is lucky to live in Denver, a city that is leading the nation in recognizing the prosecutorial difference between criminality and mental health crises. He is lucky to have private health insurance. He is lucky to have a family and fans who love and support him through his mania. And he is lucky to have encountered a peace officer who had the patience, training, skills, and compassion to not reach for a gun. After a year of intense mental health treatment, Neil is finally properly diagnosed, stable, and making music. Jail/prison is not mental health treatment and criminal convictions only create further gaps in access to medical treatment. He thanks the officer, judge, district attorney, family and fans for their support of him and applauds Denver for launching new programs that allows those with mental health issues to have their cases dismissed without conditions once the person is stable and maintains their care. Mental health crises does not discriminate between race, sex, gender, age, social class, housing status, or fame.

Fire Records recently teamed up with Royal Trux for a reissue campaign. The band released the new album White Stuff in 2019.