Gerard Butler under investigation for punching a photog

In the latest in a series of clashes between celebrities and paparazzi in Los Angeles, Gerard Butler is under criminal investigation for allegedly assaulting a photog.   It allegedly went down early Tuesday in L.A. where Gerard was leaving Crown Bar at 2:00 AM and got into his limo.
The photographer said Butler got out of the car and threw three or four punches at him, which resulted in a hospital visit for stitches to his lip. TMZ found witnesses with a very different account. They are saying the photog was tailing Gerard for hours. And, they say, the pap was driving “recklessly” as he “chased” Butler’s limo, almost hitting several pedestrians. The photog of course says he endangered no one.

The witnesses say after Gerard allegedly got out of the limo and struck the photog in the face, the photog continued following Butler for more than an hour before going to the hospital. But the agency the photog works for says Gerard struck their man at 1:45 AM and he was at the police station at 2:10 AM.  Ultimately Butler could be in big trouble regardless of the photogs behavior, for taking matters into his own hands fists instead of calling the cops.