The Denver District Attorney’s Office have dropped all charges against Royal Trux’s Neil Hagerty over an alleged assault of a Denver police officer.
According to The Denver Post, Hagerty, 58, had his charges dropped after completing a year of mental health treatment. Hagerty was arrested initially due to an altercation with police outside a Denver apartment complex in April 2023. The officers were allegedly responding to a welfare check called for Hagerty. He was charged with three felonies for allegedly trying to rip off an officer’s badge, using the badge’s pin to try and cut an officer’s neck, and attempting to pull an officer’s gun from his holster. All three officers involved in the altercation were released from the hospital.
Hagerty’s attorney said in a statement that the musician was suffering from a mental health crisis during the incident. “After a year of intense mental health treatment, Neil is finally properly diagnosed, stable and making music,” Hagerty’s attorney David Beller said. “…He thanks the officer, judge, district attorney, family and fans for their support of him and applauds Denver for launching new programs that allow those with mental health issues to have their cases dismissed without conditions once the person is stable and maintains their care.”
On his fundraising page, Hagerty posted an update when he learned the Denver District Attorney was dropping his charges: “I want to thank you all for the part you played in this outcome. I’ll try writing again once this news sinks in a little bit.”
Royal Trux were a groundbreaking indie act when they first emerged in the late 1980s, and returned in 2019 for White Stuff, their first album in 19 years. They had planned a reunion tour in 2019, but cancelled it due to “some unresolved issue arising from a past arrest” of the band’s frontwoman, Jennifer Herrema. Aside from two collaborations with The Avalanches and Ariel Pink, Royal Trux is currently inactive.
