Crime Watch is culled from reports provided by the Santa Monica Police Department. These are arrests only. All parties are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
On Sept. 17 at about midnight
SMPD Officers responded to 2nd and Santa Monica Blvd for a report of someone throwing scooters into the street but did not locate a suspect. At about 1 a.m., another call was dispatched with a similarly described suspect chasing people at 2nd and Broadway with a piece of metal in his hand. Upon arrival, officers located the suspect, later identified as Mark Butler, 47 years old from London, UK, standing near the 1400 block of Broadway surrounded by broken café tables and rental scooters/bikes. A group of individuals was filming and egging the suspect on. The suspect then turned his attention towards the group and began walking towards them. Officers verbalized commands for Butler to stop and he dropped the metal piece, sat down and was taken into custody without further incident. Butler was arrested for vandalism and public intoxication.
