On Monday, March 23, a story circulated. Alan Ritchson, star of the television series Reacher, was confronted by a neighbor after the actor “sped” through a Brentwood, TN, neighborhood, which would be insane. While Ritchson is not a direct reflection of the character he plays, he is jacked. The neighbor, however, is British.
The initial story quickly shifted. Ritchson was now labeled the aggressor. Then, he released his own vindicating bodycam footage, which showed Ronnie Taylor, the neighbor, standing in Ritchson’s path as he slowed down from speeds over 21 mph to 17 before falling off his bike to avoid the hysterical neighbor. The initial reporting was correct.
First, a little lesson on those who don’t encounter motorcycles, dirt bikes, or even Ford Mustangs in the wild. While Ritchson’s revving sounds rather loud and intimidating, it’s a growl that any of those vehicles can reach while rolling calmly and legally through a school zone. It makes one wonder if Ritchson’s second question to Taylor — “Are you drunk right now, bro?” — was accurate. Or was it simply Taylor’s delicate British sensibilities?
Not that those sensibilities have ever stopped the British from overestimating their capabilities. See, for example, the Revolutionary War, a war that could have been easily avoided if the Brits had simply accepted that the Declaration of Independence was badass and correct, instead of insisting on a fight they were manifestly destined to lose. Taylor was simply honoring that misguided spirit that lives in his blood. Points for trying?
Except, no, not so much, because all Taylor did was aggravate Ritchson for no reason as he and his sons were trying to enjoy a few leisurely laps around the neighborhood. And, yes, leisurely is the correct word here, for the bodycam footage reveals that the top speed they reached as they fled the scene of the self-defense was a whopping 33mph. Mostly, though, they kept it in the 20s.
It really makes one wonder what, besides being day drunk on a Sunday, would motivate such behavior on Taylor’s part. First of all, while Ritchson is a theater kid, he is also an Air Force brat. He is respectful of duty, diligence, training, and truth. Second, he looks the part for the roles he plays. No CGI necessary — the guy has some serious muscle. Third, it’s generally best not to mess with a man on a dirt bike. They create YouTube channels just to document the skirmishes.
Taylor, though, ignored all those points and ended up with a few bruises. He’ll survive, which is a testament to Ritchson’s restraint. He could have run into him. He could have pummeled him into oblivion for messing with him while he was out with his progeny. These Reacher scenes may be choreographed, but did Taylor think that Ritchson didn’t learn a few things during rehearsals? To state it in a way that resonates with his native dialect, it was a bloody mad decision.
In other words, this story is not one of Hollywood excess, but of keeping it real gone wrong, because, for all his stupidity, Taylor did have a mild point. Dirt bikes are rather loud, as the bodycam footage proves, and Brentwood is a rather tony suburb of Nashville. Excessive noise in the ‘burbs can be annoying and possibly even in violation of HOA rules.
Taylor could have politely approached Ritchson, who can assuredly afford a trailer and admission to one of the numerous trails near the city, and asked him to be a little quieter. He could have explained that the noise was disrupting his afternoon tea and that, if it didn’t stop, he would have no choice but to report it to the HOA board.
Instead, he chose violence. He ignored Reacher’s one simple rule, which states that if people leave him alone, he’ll leave them alone, and also one that Ritchson himself seems to follow. Taylor decided to become the guy in the ‘hood known for getting a beatdown in front of his own house, which was likely quietly applauded because that guy is for sure that guy: the one who has complained to all the other neighbors about things like not bringing their garbage cans in from the curb by 6 pm on trash day or having a visitor park on the street for longer than 2 hours.
In short, the odds are he’s the annoying neighbor who, in this case, tried to break Jack Reacher’s fist with his face and failed. However, he did succeed in one thing: brilliantly demonstrating that when Jack Reacher tells you to get out of the way, just like when a fledgling United States tells you to step aside, you’d better do it — lest you suffer the publicly humiliating defeat headed your way.
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Rich Cromwell is a writer living in Northwest Arkansas. He produces the Cookin’ Up a Story podcast, which you can listen to here. You can also follow him on X: @rcromwell4
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