A Waffle House waitress testified she saw Kid Rock "swing and hit" the plaintiff as testimony got under way in a civil suit against the celebrated hick-hopper Tuesday. Another witness supported her account.
Waitress Melissa Burkes said she saw Kid Rock's entourage "push [Harlen Akins] out the door" of the Buford Highway Waffle House, then watched as the fight continued in the parking lot.
"[Akins] was on the ground and they were still fighting him," Burkes testified. She said Akins was not fighting back.
Lawrence Hill, a Waffle House customer just before sunrise on Oct. 21, 2007, said Atkins was covering his face during the assault and appeared "dazed and confused" after the beating.
"He was covered in blood," Hill said.
The testimony supported claims by Akins attorney Eric Hertz that the brawl was initiated by Robert Ritchie, aka Kid Rock.
"Go out there and kick his [butt]," said Hertz, quoting defendant Ritchie. It is not the first time Kid Rock has done this, argued Hertz, representing former concert promoter Akins, 41, in a civil lawsuit against the rapper turned country music star.
"Someone insults [Kid Rock] and he beats them up," he said.
Ritchie's attorney, William Horton, said his client repeatedly tried to diffuse the situation.
"There's a pattern of provocation and escalation from the plaintiff," Horton argued in his opening statement. "The plaintiff picked the fight."
Ritchie was arrested after the brawl and sentenced to 12 months probation and anger-management counseling.
After his tour bus was pulled over by authorities, Ritchie pulled out a badge deeming him an honorary sheriff and asked, "Will this do?" according to the police report.
Akins, a Decatur native, says he was beaten by Ritchie's entourage and seeks to have a $6,000 medical bill covered plus "a small amount" for pain and suffering, his attorney said.
The Waffle House brawl started when, according to court records, Akins and a member of Kid Rock's entourage exchanged words. Akins said Ritchie then appeared and told him to, "Shut the [expletive] up."
A video camera inside the Waffle House captured what happened next, minus sound. Members of Kid Rock's party struck and stomped on the plaintiff, smashing his cell phone -- along with a Waffle House window.
Ritchie claims he acted in self-defense when he picked up a chair and tossed it through the window of the all-night diner, according to the consolidated pre-trial order released Tuesday morning.
Ritchie said Akins repeatedly harassed the women at the singer's table, eventually telling the defendants, "I am going to call my boys and have them shoot the place up." After punches were thrown, Jason Krause, one of Ritchie's co-defendants, destroyed Akins' phone to prevent him from calling his friends, the defense argues.
Akins then "purposely punched his fist through a large plate glass window in an attempt to attack" Kid Rock, the pre-trial order states.
"Any bodily injuries that were sustained for which [the] plaintiff sought medical care were not a result of the defendants' actions but were instead caused by [Akins]," the defense claims.
Akins claims he was "snatched from his booth" by one member of Ritchie's entourage and was "stomped and beat" by others in the Detroit rocker's party. Ritchie "directed ... the attack on Mr. Akins," the plaintiff's attorneys say.
"We're here because the defendant is Kid Rock," Horton said.
Akins overstated his injuries, Horton said, alleging the plaintiff was treated and released from the hospital with only a prescription for Motrin.
All but two of the prospective jurors said they were familiar with Kid Rock, who arrived at the courthouse attired in a subdued gray suit with trademark derby. One man on the 12-person jury was dismissed after claiming he needed to return to work.
The defense likely will present its case sometime Wednesday, with Kid Rock expected to testify.
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