MI-Gov: Cops arrest leading Dem. governor candidate’s campaign manager

Police arrested David Alexander Bullock — an activist, pastor, and most recently, campaign manager for Michigan gubernatorial candidate Shri Thanedar — for reportedly interfering in a police investigation on Sunday, according to The Detroit News.

What's some background?

Thanedar, an author and businessman, is one of three Democratic gubernatorial candidates vying for Michigan governor.

In an April poll from the Glengariff Group, Thanedar was favored to win the party nomination at 30 percent. The other candidates included onetime Ingham County Prosecuting Attorney Gretchen Whitmer, who sat at 26 percent, and former Detroit health director Abdul El-Sayed, who sat at 7 percent.

The Cook Political Report currently calls the race a toss-up. You can read more about the candidates and the race here and here.

Thanedar named Bullock his campaign manager in May.

What happened during the alleged incident?

On Monday, The Detroit News reported that police arrested Bullock outside of his Highland Park, Michigan, church after responding to a call that a woman was breaking car windows.

Police were reportedly speaking to a female witness when Bullock went outside and reportedly "began yelling and demanding to know what the police officer was doing with this woman."

Bullock reportedly refused to stay away from the officers questioning of the woman, and instead, allegedly followed one of the officers back to the area in which the woman was being questioned after being led away by the officer.

Law enforcement arrested Bullock as a result. He was ticketed with misdemeanor charges of obstructing a police investigation and providing false information to a police officer after he reportedly refused to give his name to an officer at the jail.

Bullock was later released, according to the report.

What is Bullock saying happened?

On Monday, Bullock said that it was his congregation who called the police on the woman — who, according to The Detroit News' Beth LeBlanc, "may have been mentally impaired."

The congregation reportedly phoned in the report because the female suspect was "causing trouble and assaulting people in the parking lot of the church," LeBlanc wrote.

When law enforcement arrived at the church, they reportedly questioned a young woman who said that the suspect assaulted her. The young woman reportedly declined to file a police report.

According to the News report, police "pressed the woman for her address," and that's when Bullock intervened and began asking officers why they needed her address.

"He immediately took me as somebody trying to undermine his authority,” Bullock said, according to the News.

The report noted that police did ask Bullock to leave, but Bullock said he stayed on his property and was arrested anyway.

"I’m still trying to process what happened," Bullock told the outlet.

Has Thanedar responded?

On Monday, Thanedar shared a video update on Facebook revealing that he is standing by Bullock, his "friend and campaign manager."

Thanedar captioned the video, "Yesterday morning, my friend and campaign manager, David Bullock, was arrested at his church in Highland Park. I wholeheartedly support Rev. Bullock and proudly defend him. I demand a thorough investigation of the actions of the arresting officers. I pray that David will have the strength to get through this experience."

Previously, Thanedar shared video footage of the exchange between Bullock and the police officers.

He captioned the video, "I wholeheartedly support my campaign manager David Alexander Bullock. Everyday, African-American men go through similar traumatic and humiliating experiences through no fault of their own. The pastor of the church has every right to ask questions about the well-being of their parishioners. I have the utmost respect for Reverend Bullock and will proudly defend him. I demand a thorough investigation of the actions of the officers involved in this terrible incident."

(Update 6/26/18: This post has been edited for clarity.)