Chris Brown: How he logged his 1,400 hours of community service
(CBS/AP) Singer Chris Brown has logged more than 1,400 hours of community service for the 2009 beating of former girlfriend Rihanna, basically completing his sentence. The Associated Press has learned that one-third of those hours were recorded at a rural Virginia daycare center where the singer spent time as a child and his mother once served as director.
Brown's service records have come under scrutiny by a prosecutor and a judge, who are trying to ascertain their accuracy. At a Monday hearing, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Patricia Schnegg called the accounting of Brown's community service by Richmond, Va., Police Chief Bryan T. Norwood "somewhat cryptic."
Brown pleaded guilty to felony assault in June 2009 over the beating incident. Before this week, he had received praise from the judge and had never been in danger of violating his probation. But that could change if the inquiry the judge ordered turns up irregularities with his service.
An AP analysis of the work records indicates that Brown's labor credits in the last seven months increased by four times from what they had been during the previous two years. He was credited for working 701 hours - a feat that previously took him 28 months to achieve.
Yet through it all, Brown hasn't stopped being an R& B superstar, performing worldwide, releasing an album and even getting injured in a nightclub brawl.
In recent months, the logs show Brown has essentially been working three jobs - performing cleanup duty in Richmond police precincts by day, janitorial chores at the daycare 45 miles away by night, and hit songs for global audiences in between.
Ida Minter, administrator of the Tappahannock Children's Center, said Brown attended the nonprofit facility "off and on" for more than 12 years and his mother was employed there for 24 years, including as director.
Brown's community service at the center began in January 2010, but work entries dramatically increased in March of this year. Most of his shifts were logged between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. and were typically listed as "general cleaning," with some entries describing him painting or stripping and waxing floors. It is unclear who supervised him.
Brown's attorney Mark Geragos said Monday that he welcomed inquiries from Los Angeles probation officials and said he urged Brown to work double shifts so the lawyer wouldn't have to keep coming back to court.
Minter described Brown's work at the daycare center favorably.
"I think Chris always goes beyond because he always wants to give back to where he grew up," she told the AP. "And this was a part of his home because his mom worked here full-time."
"If you've ever been involved in stripping and waxing, it's hard," she said. "It's a lot of work."
Brown has been busy in recent months, releasing his new album "Fortune," traveling to France for a video shoot, winning a Grammy Award, performing at other award shows and resuming his friendship and music collaboration with Rihanna.
He has also drawn negative attention for being present at a bottle-throwing brawl at a New York City nightclub that left him with a cut chin. And in February, a woman in Miami accused him of taking her cellphone to prevent her from snapping pictures of him.
It was after that incident that Brown, 23, accelerated his work schedule, according to the records filed Monday.
Brown, meanwhile, has been keeping up his Twitter account, sending out some positive messages this week:
Brown will kick off a tour on Nov. 17, in Oslo, Norway.
How Chris Brown spent his time:
The Associated Press analyzed records filed on Brown's community service, showing how he and Richmond officials say he cleaned up. The following are some of the tasks documented in Brown's service log:
- 371 hours logged picking up trash in various locations around Richmond.
- 346 hours of "general cleaning," all logged at Tappahannock Children's Center.
- 82 hours painting.
- 79 hours spent washing police cars and fire trucks.
- 77.5 hours spent stripping and waxing floors, all but 4.5 of which were done at Tappahannock Children's Center.
- 56 hours destroying old police files.
- 41.5 hours cleaning and organizing storage rooms, kitchens and other areas at police and fire stations.
- 41 hours tending stalls at the Richmond Police Department stables.
- 19 hours doing inventory of smoke detectors and fire extinguishers.
Where Brown's logs say he worked:
- 647 hours -- Richmond Police Department stations and facilities.
- 508 hours -- Tappahannock Children's Center.
- 97.5 hours -- Richmond Fire Department stations and headquarters.
- 16 hours -- Richmond Parks and Recreation department.
- 133.5 hours -- various other sites, including street cleanup and painting student residences at Virginia Union University.
When Brown logged hours:
- 2009 (Sept-Dec.) -- 116.5 hours.
- 2010 (Jan.-Nov.) -- 464.5 hours.
- 2011 (June-Dec.) -- 120 hours.
- 2012 (Feb.-Aug.) -- 701 hours.