MANCHESTER, NH – A Vermont man was arrested after acting out in front of a city police officer outside of District Court on Thursday.
According to a police narrative of the incident, Manchester Police Sgt. Robert Bellenoit was exiting Consuelo’s, located at 36 Amherst St., at approximately 12:50 p.m. on Sept. 17 when he noticed a vehicle parked on Amherst Street in front of the 9th Circuit Court-Manchester. As Sgt. Bellenoit walked toward his police cruiser he noticed that an occupant of the vehicle, with Vermont plates, was videotaping him as he exited the business.
Sgt. Bellenoit noticed the male passenger was waving his hand out of the window as he walked past the vehicle, later identified as Sean Buckner, 49, of Vermont. Buckner allegedly gave Sgt. Bellenoit the finger, so Sgt. Bellenoit walked over to the vehicle to see what was going on.
According to Sgt. Bellenoit, Buckner was sweating profusely, and he asked him if he needed police assistance. Buckner allegedly became argumentative, tensed up and told Sgt. Bellenoit that he could give him the middle finger if he wanted to, so Sgt. Bellenoit started to ask additional questions, saying he was concerned Buckner may have been under the influence of an illegal substance and wanted to make sure he was all right.
At that point Buckner allegedly stuck his hand in between the front seat as if he were reaching for something. Sgt. Bellenoit, stating he was fearful for his safety, allegedly grabbed hold of Buckner’s arm and prevented him from reaching in between the seats. Sgt. Bellenoit then attempted to remove Buckner from the vehicle, but Buckner failed to comply.
Buckner allegedly continued to curse out Sgt. Bellenoit while challenging the officer to a fight. The officer attempted to calm Buckner down in the presence of heavy foot traffic on Amherst Street, but Buckner refused to comply, so he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest/detention.
He appeared in the 9th Circuit Court-Manchester on September 18, 2015. Police said the driver of the vehicle, also of Vermont, was not charged in the incident.