I have watched the video of Mark Burgress being arrested several times, and there seems to be a lot of misinformation about what is actually in the video. We all know Mark was a cussing moron, that’s apparent. We also know that a judge could find him guilty of disorderly conduct (if police can actually prove he was interfering in their investigation), but some people, including Belfrage are trying to say there are other things happening in the video that are not.
For instance he said Mark was preventing the police investigation of the traffic accident. I didn’t see that. He was standing on a public sidewalk cussing, and they were actually about ready to leave the site before arresting him. Not once did I ever see Mark walk into the scene and try to physically interfere.
He also said they were questioning him, watch the video, they were trying to grab him even though they had no reason to. There is a difference between keeping a safe distance and questioning someone and trying to detain them. At no point did Mark ‘threaten’ the police with violence or with a weapon.
Belfrage also says that you should always follow police instructions. Not the case. While police have a right to ask bystanders questions, you have a right to NOT answer the question. Immediately after asking Mark a question they try to detain him before he can answer. Refusing to answer a question, as Mark did, is not a reason to arrest or detain someone. Mark actually asks them why they are trying to grab him, they have no response.
While we can certainly DEBATE the incident, let’s debate it on what actually happened in the video.