Crime & Safety

Second Bias Arrest for Country Music Fan, Police Say

Police said they don't want Darren Walp coming back to Camden ever again.

Written and reported by Bryan Littel.

Camden County Police have had enough with a Ridley Park, PA man, who was arrested Saturday for the second time this summer in an alleged racial bias incident.

The department is calling on the Susquehanna Bank Center to blacklist Darren T. Walp following what police said was intolerable behavior prior to the Blake Shelton concert.

“We never want to see this individual in the city of Camden again,” said Camden County Police Chief J. Scott Thomson. “Therefore, I will ask the Susquehanna Bank Center to permanently ban this individual from their venue.”

Welp, who was arrested before a Toby Keith concert in June, jumped out of his pickup at Broadway and Morgan around 3:30 p.m., cracked open a beer he grabbed from the truck’s bed and, unprovoked, began screaming racial slurs at a black man driving the car behind him Saturday afternoon, police said.

Walp challenged the other driver, who had a child in the car with him, to a fight, police said, but the victim drove away and flagged down an officer nearby.

Find out what's happening in Collingswoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Based on the victim’s description of Walp and the red pickup he was driving, police found him in one of the concert venue’s lots, where he was identified by the victim and arrested.

Walp was charged with fourth-degree bias intimidation and a disorderly persons count of harassment, and was taken to the Camden County Jail in lieu of $2,500 full cash bail.

Find out what's happening in Collingswoodwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

In the previous incident, Walp climbed the fence of the Royal Court apartment complex, which borders one of the concert venue’s parking lots, and waved a Confederate flag while screaming epithets, police said.

He was charged with fourth-degree bias intimidation and fourth-degree criminal trespassing in that incident.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.