SNOOP DOGG - RAPPER SNOOP DOGG CLEARED OVER FAN ASSAULT CLAIMS

RAPPER SNOOP DOGG CLEARED OVER FAN ASSAULT CLAIMS

Hip-hop star Snoop Dogg has been cleared of assaulting a fan who jumped on stage at a 2005 concert.

The rapper was found not to have been directly involved in an onstage scuffle in Seattle by a Santa Monica civil court though his record label, another rapper and other involved parties were ordered to pay $449,400 (£295,950) in damages.

Richard Monroe had climbed onstage during a Snoop Dogg show at the White River Amphitheatre in 2005 and suffered serious injuries when he was attacked by the Gin and Juice star's security staff and other onstage personnel.

"I was getting punched, kicked, kicked, punched," Monroe testified. "It was brutal. I was really in shock. I couldn't believe it."

Mr Monroe had sought $22 million (£14.5 million) in damages over the attack but after the jury repeatedly watched video footage of the brawl, Snoop Dogg - real name Calvin Broadus - was cleared of civil assault and battery.

Damages will instead be paid by Doggystyle Records, the label founded by Snoop Dogg, rapper Soopafly - whose real name is Priest Brooks and who also performed on the tour - and other unnamed parties.

"We're very pleased that the jury found that this incident was not something to be taken lightly," Mr Monroe's lawyer, Brian E Watkins told the Associated Press news agency.

A visa ban preventing Snoop Dogg from entering the UK was lifted in 2008, when a judge overturned a banning order related to a scuffle at Heathrow airport in 2006.