Father forgives NJ man who peed on son’s memorial

HAMILTON (Atlantic) — The father of the boy whose memorial was urinated on has forgiven the man responsible and called the incident a "teachable moment."

Mark Clopp told CBS Philly that he has accepted an apology from Bryan Bellace, the man caught on video peeing on a memorial to his 9-year-old son Christian inside Underhill Park in Hamilton.

The former township police officer told CBS Philly that "being angry is never going to heal anyone, it's never going to fix it." Clopp posted a similar message on his Facebook page.

"We were presented with an opportunity this weekend. We came to a fork in the road with two potential options: We could have stayed angry and gotten swift justice. It would be a reasonable outcome for what occurred. Instead, this became a teachable moment; a shining example for our country. We responded with apologies, forgiveness, volunteerism and a rallying community," Clopp wrote.

Bellace, who was fired by his father after backlash escalated on the family plumbing business' social media accounts, blamed his action on drinking.

Bellace, of Egg Harbor City, was charged with lewdness, disorderly conduct and criminal mischief.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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