A Timeline of All of Chris Brown's Arrests and Legal Troubles

May 2024 ยท 2 minute read

February 2009: Brown, then 19, is arrested for assaulting then-girlfriend Rihanna, then 20, during a confrontation the morning before the Grammys. Both nixed their scheduled appearances at the award show. A probation officer's report filed for his sentencing showed that Brown was involved in two previous domestic violence incidents with Rihanna in months prior to the arrest, in Europe and in Barbados.

"I remember she tried to kick me, just like her beating s--t, but then I really hit her. With a closed fist, like I punched her and it busted her lip. And when I saw it I was in shock, I was like, f--k why did I hit her like that?" Brown said in his 2017 documentary Welcome to My Life: The Official Chris Brown Documentary.

Brown added, "I went from being on top of the world, No. 1 songs, being kind of like America's sweetheart to being Public Enemy No. 1. I felt like a f--king monster. I was thinking about suicide, I wasn't sleeping, I barely ate."

June 2009: Brown pleads guilty to one count of assault with the intent of doing great bodily injury in connection with his February confrontation with Rihanna, as part of a plea deal.

August 2009: Brown is sentenced to five years of probation for his assault of Rihanna, and is also ordered to complete 180 days of community labor and a one-year anti-domestic violence program.

Rihanna meanwhile obtains a restraining order against Brown.

December 2010: Brown completes his court-mandated  anti-domestic violence course.

February 2011: Rihanna's lawyer tells E! News that she has agreed to allow the current restraining order against Brown to be bumped down to a level one, which would mean that the two would be allowed to contact each other as long as he doesn't harass or annoy her.

March 2011: Brown has a meltdown in his dressing room following an interview on Good Morning America with Robin Roberts, during which she asked him about his assault of Rihanna. He later apologizes, saying in a different interview that he had to "let off steam."

June 2012: Police investigate a New York City club fight that allegedly broke out between Brown and Drake, a friend of Rihanna, and their entourages. Brown is one of five people injured. He later alludes to the brawl and to Drake in a diss track.

Brown and Rihanna, meanwhile, continue to date on and off until 2013.

February 2012: Brown is accused of snatching a woman's cell phone after she allegedly tried to take his photo outside a Miami club. The case is later dismissed.

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