Shedding more light on a strange situation.
Police bodycam footage of Todd Snider’s arrest has been released, and shows Todd begging and pleading with police to return to the hospital. It’s unclear how severe his injuries are, where the rest of his band/tour manager was, was he under the influence of any kind of pain medication or other drugs… there’s still a lot of questions, but from the video footage, it appears to be a pretty sad situation all the way around.
Let’s rewind quickly… earlier this month, country/folk singer-songwriter, Todd Snider, was set to play a show at Salt Lake City’s Commonwealth Room, but just before he was set to take the stage, the venue posted that would be unable to perform that night due to “injuries sustained in an incident.” No other information was given:
“Due to injuries sustained in an incident last night, Todd Snider will be unable to perform at the Commonwealth Room tonight(Nov. 1) in SLC . We deeply apologize for the postponement and appreciate everyone’s understanding as he gets treated. More information on a new date will be available soon.”
Snider’s team followed up with an announcement, stating that Todd was “violently attacked” outside of his hotel in Salt Lake City, and sustained “severe” injuries. At the time, there were no local news reports corroborating a reported assault. The announcement canceled the remainder of his 2025 High, Lonesome and Then Some Tour dates this year.
The full statement from Snider’s team reads as follows:
“We are heartbroken to announce the cancellation of the ‘High, Lonesome and Then Some’ 2025 Tour dates. Ahead of Todd Snider’s show in Salt Lake City, Todd sustained severe injuries as the victim of a violent assault outside of his hotel.
Todd will be unable to perform for an undetermined amount of time. We deeply apologize for the cancellation and any inconvenience it causes. We appreciate your understanding as Todd receives needed medical treatment. We hope to have more information on new dates soon.”
However, according to KSL, Snider himself was arrested at a nearby hospital and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail for disorderly conduct, as well as trespassing and making violent threats. Snider allegedly went to the hospital claiming he was attacked outside his hotel, however once he was discharged and cleared to leave, he allegedly became combative and refused to leave. He reportedly cussed out staff, and while he eventually did leave the building, he reportedly returned to the hospital and made verbal threats to hospital staff.
KSL reporter Heidi Hatch confirmed that police were indeed called out to investigate an alleged assault of a 59 year old man at the Commonwealth Room, presumably Snider, but no other details are available.
The bodycam footage below shows Todd leaving the hospital as police approach, and he immediately goes to get into the police car. Like I said earlier, it’s unclear if Todd is under the influence of pain medication or other drugs (he has a known history of drug and alcohol abuse that stemmed from a debilitating back injury in the ’90s), but he certainly seems to be a bit out of sorts. He tells one of the officers that he has staples in his head from the mugging. One of the nurses then tells police that he was treated at a sister hospital, hence the staples, and then came to theirs looking for a place to sleep, citing that “his whole body hurt.” When he was denied, he started cussing and screaming, but the nurse says he didn’t make any threats. A security guard chimes in and says he threated to “kick my a**.” The nurse assume he is homeless and recommends a nearby shelter, although mentions nothing about Todd seeking drugs or pain meds.
At one point, Todd tells the officer he lives in Nashville and is famous:
“I’m not homeless, I live in Nashville… I have a band. I’m famous.”
He continues to beg officer for “mercy” and to let him go back to the hospital. It’s just a sad, sad sight to see such a prolific and talented songwriter in this situation. And as I mentioned earlier, the 44 minutes of bodycam doesn’t really explain all that much, but it’s clear that Todd needs some help… hopefully he can get the help he needs.
