Earlier this week Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch was arrested in Athens. Panic set in when the initial news broke because Branch was expected to be selected in the NFL Draft this weekend, and if this arrest was serious then that could've tanked his draft stock.
As details about the arrest emerged it became very apparent how much of an overreaction this was on the police officer's part. Fast forward to Thursday and the final details of the arrest came out which put the final bow on how irrelevant this is towards Branch's future.
"I continued to give Zachariah Branch verbal commands to move from blocking the sidewalk and advised that if he did not, he would receive a citation for blocking the sidewalk," the reporting officer wrote via 247sports.com. “Zachariah Branch smirked, then stepped backwards and to the right, then remained standing upon the public sidewalk, so as to obstruct, hinder, and impede free passage upon the sidewalk as well as impede free ingress/egress to or from the adjacent places of business."
Zachariah Branch's arrest was pointless from the jump
Branch was arrrested for standing on a sidewalk. Yes, you read that correctly, all he did was stand on a sidewalk.
The full report indicates that a large group of people were attempting to enter a bar that was trying to close late Saturday night and early Sunday morning. Officers had to get involved to break up the crowd and it reportedly turned physical.
Branch however was not involved in any of the physical altercations. All he did was not fully listen to the officer's demands to move off the sidewalk, and in Athens that is enough to get arrested.
Sure he could've listened to what the officer said, but Branch wasn't hurting anyone. There apparently was far more important matters for the officer to handle if some people were getting in a physical altercation, so who knows why this offer chose to target Branch.
In the end all of these details show how unnecessary this arrest was which thankfully shouldn't hurt his future in the NFL at all.
Add us as a preferred source on Google