Police Report: MASTODON's HINDS Clashed With SYSTEM OF A DOWN's ODADJIAN

September 21, 2007

Aaron Thompson of the Las Vegas Weekly reports: Turns out, Tommy Lee vs. Kid Rock was only the undercard on [MTV Video Music Awards] night.

According to a Metro police report released Monday, the September 10 fight that landed MASTODON frontman Brent Hinds in University Medical Center's intensive care unit with brain hemorrhaging, a broken nose and two black eyes began as a skirmish between Hinds and Shavo Odadjian, bassist for multiplatinum metal band SYSTEM OF A DOWN.

According to the police report — based on firsthand accounts and corroborated by hotel-security video footage — an inebriated Hinds was leaving Mandalay Bay around 3 a.m. when he encountered Odadjian and musician William Hudson at the hotel's west valet area. Hinds took off his shirt and hit Odadjian with it, then struck Hudson in both the face and chest, prompting Odadjian to advise Hinds "to relax," several times, according to the police report.

The police report then indicates both Odadjian and Hudson punched Hinds in the face, knocking him to the ground. An unidentified friend of Hinds, who reportedly witnessed the event, rushed to the musician’s aid and apologized to Odadjian and Hudson, saying Hinds was "just drunk," according to the police report. Odadjian and Hudson were both questioned by police on the scene.

No charges had been filed at press time, though the police report lists Hudson as a "suspect," facing a possible charge of "battery with substantial bodily harm." The police report lists Odadjian as a "witness."

According to the police report, tensions ran high after Hinds began drunkenly "annoying" Odadjian and Hudson inside the Palms following the conclusion of the VMAs.

Read more at the Las Vegas Weekly.

A February 2007 TV report from the Alabama CBS affiliate WIAT focusing on Brent Hinds — how he got into playing guitar and the formation of MASTODON (including an interview with his parents) — can be viewed below.

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