Actress Whose Arrest Prompted T.I.'s Houston's Restaurant Boycott Has Charges Dropped

Last year, three actresses were taken into custody after being manhandled by an off-duty officer for allegedly staying too long in a Houston’s restaurant bathroom. Back then, T.I called a boycott on the place, but it was only this week that charges were finally dropped against one of the women.

According to TMZ, Brittany Lucio, who was initially charged with trespassing and felony obstruction after being dragged out of a restaurant in Atlanta, will not face any criminal charges in the case.

She completed all requirements of a pretrial intervention program, which included taking a class about civics and citizen's rights.

Gerald Griggs, Brittany's attorney, says she now plans to sue:

"Ms. Lucio’s name has been cleared, and she looks forward to pursuing a civil action against law enforcement for the damage and injuries she sustained. She would like to thank all of her supporters in this matter, including [T.I.] and others that stood up for her."

The case went viral in May 2018. Three young black actresses, Brittany Marie Lucio, Erica Walker, and “Greenleaf” Asia’h Epperson entered a Houston’s restaurant in Atlanta on May 13, and after the staff told them their kitchen was closed, they asked to use the bathroom.

However, after 10 minutes passed, an off-duty officer who was working as a security guard at the eatery came into the bathroom and dragged two of the women outside, throwing them into the bushes and using excessive force.

According to police reports, an employee had asked repeatedly to the women to leave the establishment, and after they refused, the guard was called. But the ladies refused that version of the story.

“There was no conversation. There was no, ‘Ladies, can you leave?’ She literally opened the door, and she said, ‘You ladies have been in here for too long,’ and that’s when Guzman came in the bathroom and grabbed my friends,” Asia’h Epperson told TMZ at the time.

Lucio defended herself by allegedly punching the man and fighting against his hold, but he restrained her and Walker while Epperson recorded the incident and threatened to call the police.

But once law enforcement officers arrived at the scene, they arrested the women and not the security guard.

The three were charged with criminal trespass, and Lucio was also charged with felony obstruction.

After the video of the incident, plus photos showing the women’s bruises went viral on social media, rapper and actor T.I called for a boycott on the restaurant, claiming that they were racist.

“I think that it’s great. I think a person with such a major platform like that is sticking up for us, and he has our backs,” Epperson said of T.I’s actions at the time. “This isn’t the first time that this has happened, so I think that it’s great.”

Eventually, that location of the restaurant was closed.