KANYE V. THE PAPARAZZO

KANYE WEST WAS ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTING A PAPARAZZO . . . BUT HE WASN'T CHARGED WITH ANYTHING:

KANYE WEST had another altercation with the paparazzi, and although he WAS briefly arrested, he was NOT charged with anything.

Here's what went down: --Late last Thursday night, Kanye was out at a nightclub in England. While he was attempting to leave . . . (--at around 2:00 A.M.) . . . a paparazzo began snapping pictures of him and the FOUR girls he was with. --The paparazzo claims that Kanye became upset . . . then violent . . . and SHOVED the camera into his face. He says he suffered a cut on his nose.

--A few hours later, the British authorities showed up at Kanye's hotel and arrested him. They questioned him . . . and after a brief investigation, he was cleared of any wrongdoing and was released from custody.

(--For what it's worth, TMZ is reporting that the same photographer also made an assault claim against a famous British soccer player around a month ago. However, no charges were filed in that case, either.)

--Over the weekend, Kanye took to his blog to explain HIS side of the story. He claims that the photographer was overzealous . . . and INSTIGATED the situation. --He writes, quote, "I put my hand up to the camera in self-defense! When I left the club, I was encountered by a thirsty paparazzi as usual. He felt he had more rights to my space than me, so I put my hand up to prevent him from taking my image. --"I didn't assault him but merely putting my hand up to cover his lens. My security yelled, 'Get the camera off him.' I guess in all the commotion the camera scraped his nose."

(--If you'd like to read his ENTIRE post, you'll find it at this link . . .) http://www.kanyeuniversecity.com/blog/?em3106=213537_-1__0_~0_-1_5_2008_0_0&em3161=&em3281

(--In the blog post, Kanye calls for new laws that would protect people from the paparazzi . . . by forcing them to ask permission before taking any photographs.) (--As you may recall, Kanye was involved in another scuffle with the paparazzi back in September at Los Angeles International Airport, in which a photographer's camera was smashed.)