Reacher star Alan Ritchson has finally spoken out on his shocking brawl with a neighbor, revealing he had a ‘premonition’ that he should wear his body camera on the day of the fight.
The clash erupted in Brentwood, Tennessee, on March 22, with disturbing footage captured by the actor’s camera appearing to show Ritchson pummeling Ronnie Taylor after a dispute over his roaring motorcycle.
Taylor allegedly stepped in front of Ritchson’s bike to stop him from speeding through the neighborhood – sparking the brutal fight.
The Brentwood Police Department ultimately concluded that Ritchson acted in self-defense, closing the case without pressing charges.
Appearing on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, Ritchson branded the confrontation the ‘scariest thing he’s ever been through’ and alleged Taylor ‘came at him aggressively.’
Ritchson said he was ‘hardly moving’ on his bike when he was allegedly stopped by Taylor who ‘all of a sudden stepped in front of’ him and his kids.
Reacher star Alan Ritchson has finally spoken out on his shocking brawl with a neighbor in March
Ritchson, who is a devout Christian, said his decision to wear his body camera that day reaffirmed his beliefs that ‘God is real’ and saved him from jail – pictured in the hit show
The clash erupted in Brentwood, Tennessee , on March 22, with disturbing footage captured by the actor’s camera appearing to show Ritchson pummeling Ronnie Taylor after a dispute over his roaring motorcycle. Taylor allegedly stepped in front of Ritchson’s bike to stop him from speeding through the neighborhood – sparking the brutal fight
The actor said, ‘as soon as he started coming, I push him back and I get close to him and I smell alcohol and I was like, “Oh, yeah, it’s Sunday at like 11:00 am. like it’s 12. It’s like this guy’s drunk.”
‘And so I go to leave and he gets in front of my bike again and you can’t really tell on the body camera but he shoves me two-handed, shoves me off the bike and the bike goes to the ground…
‘And so there was no at that point there’s no more conversation. I’ve got to protect me and I’ve got to protect my kids and I’ve got to get us off the street safely and that means getting him out of the picture. So I hit the guy.
‘I don’t want to like knock him out. I don’t want to break a bone.’
Ritchson, who is a devout Christian, said his decision to wear his body camera that day reaffirmed his beliefs that ‘God is real’ and saved him from jail.
He said, ‘I bought it thinking like maybe I’ll just use that and I put it away. Never once have I thought like, I need to put that thing on. And I step into the garage that day and it was like somebody talked to me. It was like, where’s that thing? And I was like, where is that thing?
‘I should put that on and just see what I get. I don’t even know where it is. And I dig through my cabinets and I find it tucked away on top of a shelf. And I’m like, I’m trying to figure out how you even put it on. It’s a body camera.
‘If anything makes you go, “Maybe God is real” it’s [that]. The cops came to arrest me that day and only had [a tape from a neighbor] to go off of…
Ritchson is best known for playing Jack Reacher in the Amazon Prime Video series Reacher. The fourth season of the action-packed thriller will be released in 2026
The actor shares three sons with wife Catherine, who he married in 2006
Ritchson said his sons no longer want to go on bike rides and as a result, he still feels resentment towards Taylor (pictured)
‘Like, thank God. It was a gift from God. I think that I had that premonition or that that intuition that I put it on. [My video] changed the course of my life forever.
‘It was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through. I don’t like that kind of conflict.’
Ritchson said his sons no longer want to go on bike rides and as a result, he still feels resentment towards Taylor.
Obtained by the Daily Mail, the incident report painted a harrowing picture of the encounter, with a few officers noting that Taylor appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.
One officer wrote, ‘I must note that, while speaking with Mr. Taylor, I observed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from his person.’
The same officer also described Taylor’s injuries: ‘I also observed a large, bleeding, red, inflamed bump on the left side of his head above his eyebrow… Mr. Taylor’s nose and the left side of his jaw and chin were also red and inflamed, which are injuries consistent with being punched in the face. Mr. Taylor also had an abrasion on the inside of his left arm in the forearm area.’
Taylor refused medical treatment, but once cleared, he told the officer that he had taken his motorcycle out to wash it when he noticed a man on a green bike revving loudly and speeding up and down Berwyn Court with two children following.
‘Mr. Taylor advised that, because of the male’s actions on his motorcycle, he walked out into the middle of the street as the male was riding back down Berwyn Court, telling him to stop what he was doing because kids were playing,’ per the report.
Taylor added that the biker fell, then got up, pushed him, and started swinging at him.
The report also described a follow-up encounter as tensions escalated. Taylor claimed that Ritchson returned to his bike, prompting him to continue yelling.
‘Mr. Ritchson turned around again, pushed him to the ground, and started punching him while he was on the ground. After this, Mr. Taylor said Mr. Ritchson had left. This is when Mr. Taylor called the police,’ read the report.
Officers reviewed video footage that appeared to corroborate much of the account.
One officer wrote, ‘While on scene, I watched a video that was recorded by a witness of the assault… Alan Ritchson punching Mr. Taylor while Mr. Taylor is on the grass next to the sidewalk.
‘It should be noted that Mr. Taylor is on his hands and knees while Mr. Ritchson is punching him. Mr. Ritchson’s two sons are also on their motorcycles watching this, before Mr. Ritchson tries to get back on his motorcycle, but runs it into the curb, and it falls over.’
The footage, the report continued, showed Ritchson revving his bike to urge Taylor to move before pushing him to the ground and punching him several times.
‘The video then shows the two men yelling at each other, and Alan pushing him down. Ronnie then gets in Alan’s face and yells at him. Alan then asks Ronnie if he had been drinking,’ the report reads.
‘Alan stated to us that Ronnie smelled like alcohol. At this point, the video shows Alan getting back on his bike after Ronnie kept yelling at him. Alan then revs his engine at Ronnie, urging him to move.
‘The video was unclear about what exactly happened next, but it then shows Alan pushing Ronnie to the ground and punching him several times. Alan then gets on his bike and revs the engine again, and the bike appears to fall to the ground. Ronnie then walks away, and Alan drives off with his two kids following him.’
Ritchson sustained minor injuries himself, including an abrasion on his right elbow and jammed thumbs, but stated he did not require medical attention.
A different officer detailed Taylor’s version of the chaotic encounter in their report.
‘After stopping the motorcycles, the driver of the Kawasaki fell off the bike and Mr. Taylor stated to the driver, “Hey guy, dude, you gotta stop. You gotta stop like in these neighborhoods, right!”
‘After he states this to the driver, Mr. Taylor said he just started wailing on me. After “wailing” on him, the driver gets back on the bike and Mr. Taylor stated he pushed him back. After he pushes him, the driver of the motorcycle gets off the bike and “beats the sh** out of me!”’
The officer continued, noting that Taylor claimed he had pleaded with the biker to slow down.
‘Mr. Taylor continues telling me that he told the driver of the Kawasaki, “could you just f****** stop riding around like an asshole? There are kids here man!” I asked Mr. Taylor to describe the subject and if he had any tag information from the motorcycle.’
‘TAYLOR took two side steps into RITCHSON’s path and blocked his travel, causing RITCHSON to go from approximately 17mph to zero almost instantly,’ read the report
Taylor also recounted being questioned about drinking during the altercation.
‘Mr. Taylor started going over the events again with me and stated the driver of the motorcycle asked him if he had been drinking or was drunk. Mr. Taylor stated, “Yeah I had a drink while watching soccer today in my house!”
‘It is to be noted that I did not smell any odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Mr. Taylor, but Officer Jones did smell an odor while speaking with him.’
Another officer noted that Taylor had physically blocked Ritchson’s path, causing him to brake suddenly and crash.
‘TAYLOR took two side steps into RITCHSON’s path and blocked his travel, causing RITCHSON to go from approximately 17mph to zero almost instantly,’ read the report.
‘The sudden braking caused RITCHSON to crash and apparently go over his motorcycle handlebar. RITCHSON asked TAYLOR, “Are you drunk right now bro? Are you drinking?”’
