Mark Clopp, a veteran police officer, was dumbfounded by what he saw when perusing social media. Mark saw a bearded guy approach his dead young boy’s monument, unzip his trousers, and pee right across the boy’s honorary plaque in a video that has since gone viral.
Christian Clopp died at the age of nine from severe brain cancer, leaving a brief but significant impact in his Hamilton, New Jersey, neighborhood. The small monument was created in his honor, highlighting the child’s positive perspective despite his incredible hardship. Sadly, not everyone agreed that the deceased child deserved to be honored in this way.
Bryan Bellace, 23, smirked as he desecrated Christian’s gravestone, while his companion, Daniel Flippen, 23, laughed and videotaped the act. Both men were detained and prosecuted, but it was Bellace’s horrific apology that enraged the public the most.
When questioned about why he would do such a thing, Bellace said that he was inebriated and didn’t recall the event. He alleges that he had been drinking beer all day and that his inebriation contributed to the incident. Flippen was charged with possessing an open container of alcohol in the public park where the monument is located, while Bellace was charged with disorderly behavior, criminal mischief, and lewdness.
Bryan Bellace decided to meet with Mark Clopp after seeing the public anger his acts had provoked. Bellace apologized to Mark for desecrating his son’s monument in an awkward encounter, only to get an unexpected answer from the bereaved parent.
Rather than attacking Bellace, Mark offered him forgiveness. He stated that Christian would have wished for Bellace to be forgiven since he was such a nice and compassionate boy.
Since then, people in the community have worked together to clean up the monument. Christian’s optimism had a personal influence on many of the individuals who volunteered to sanitize the plaque. Surprisingly, Mark has decided to see the situation positively.
Of course, Mark acknowledged that forgiveness wasn’t always an option. Prior to their identification, he referred to them as “narcissistic, drunken scumbags” with “no regard for anyone or anything.” He was then reminded of his son’s legacy.
Mark wrote that, as for the two actors, he doesn’t know either one of them. He is not sure what is going on in his life to make one so unconcerned about how others feel, but he hopes this serves as a wake-up call and he gets the help he requires. His first response was to track him down and beat him senseless in defense of his son’s honor and the pain he caused his family. He is better than that.
Bellace says that he would seek professional therapy for his drinking and that he is looking forward to rebuilding his life as a result of the experience. He believes that seeing himself on tape made him realize the seriousness of his drinking issue.
