Cagle: Tucson incident was self-defense
By Cathalena E. Burch
cburch@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.09.2008
The rain was pouring in sheets that night in Knoxville, Tenn.
There must have been 3,000 people packed into the Homer Hamilton Theater, an outdoor venue that's a lot like Casino del Sol's AVA, and not a one of them sought refuge.
So country singer Chris Cagle, who was closing out the Tennessee Valley Fair concert series last month, took off his cowboy hat and hopped out from under the stage canvas and into the crowd.
"I got soaked," he recalled last week. "It was an awesome night."
Cagle wishes he could say his last Tucson concert was awesome.
It wasn't.
It ended with Cagle, who turns 40 in November, being charged with misdemeanor assault after a fan accused Cagle of hitting him.
Cagle has not spoken publicly about the December incident until now. Last month he was ordered to undergo eight hours of anger management classes. He has until February, at which time the charges will be dropped, court records state.
"I told the judge if that's what she saw fit, I trust her; I'll do it. I mean, I don't think self-defense employs anger management," Cagle said during a phone call last month from a concert stop in Birmingham, Ala.
The charges followed a Dec. 12 benefit concert at the Cactus Moon Cafe. According to police reports, Cagle and Mark Barry of Tucson got into an altercation after Cagle stopped signing autographs for Barry's girlfriend. Barry, who has filed a lawsuit against Cagle and his bodyguard, told police Cagle attacked him for no reason.
In court documents and through his attorney, Cagle has maintained he acted in self-defense.
"What took place in Tucson would take place in any state in the union. I would not change my actions in any way, shape, form or fashion," he said during last week's interview.
"The only thing I would like your readers to know is that it had nothing to do with a woman asking me for autographs. It had to do with me being threatened by her boyfriend because I wouldn't sign the 25th autograph when I was out back having my private time. She came out back and found me and I told her I need a break. He heard it, got mad. I left the venue and he sought me out, followed me outside and, you know, I can't really say much more."
Cagle will return to Tucson tonight for the first time since that incident to headline the 2008 Desert Pro Rodeo concert.
"I love Tucson," he said. "That whole incident had nothing to do with me and nothing to do with anything other than (Barry's) own personal issues that he can't deal with. That's his own thing."
Cagle made headlines again in late May when he and his girlfriend were charged with domestic abuse for a fight at Cagle's Nashville home. Cagle was cleared of the charges in late July after his girlfriend refused to testify against him.
In talking with Cagle, you get a sense that the irony of the title of his latest album, "My Life's Been a Country Song," is not lost on him. Despite his trials, he is still having fun with his eight-year country music career.
"I'm definitely having fun. When this is no longer fun, I quit," he said. "There's a lot more fun things I can do in this world and have my privacy as well. But this is what I love."
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