BLM Saratoga will not be quiet

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Members of Black Lives Matter Saratoga plan to speak during the City Council’s public comment period tomorrow evening, Tuesday July 20, they said in a press conference earlier today. 

“It’s always said that what we are doing is ‘not the right way,’” said Lexis Figuereo, the leader of Black Lives Matter Saratoga. “When we’re marching in the streets, it’s not the right way. When we go to these meetings, it’s not the right way. When we sit down, it’s not the right way. March on the sidewalk, not the right way. In silence, not the right way. Post something on Facebook, not the right way,” Figuereo said. “So what is the right way?

“Forget about this stuff and go on about our lives,” he said, adding that this is what others want to hear. “Once again, we refuse to.”

Mayor Meg Kelly said today that she had no plans to change the order or operation of tomorrow’s meeting. Fifteen minutes at the start of the meeting is reserved for public comment, and people get two minutes apiece. That will not change, she said.

Two weeks ago, news reports said she shut down the meeting when the public spoke in support of one speaker during his public speaking time. According to reports, they said, “Uh-huh” and “Yes,” but the mayor runs a meeting in which only those with the floor are allowed to speak. When people ignored that, a story in the Times-Union said, she adjourned the meeting briefly. 

In a winding press conference Figuereo reiterated what he wanted from a meeting with city leaders, in public and with some sort of third party mediator:

  • A civilian review and oversight board to oversee police activity with subpoena powers;
  • The demilitarization of the Saratoga Springs Police Force;
  • An independent investigation into the death of Darryl Mount; 
  • Money for affordable housing so that people who work here can live here; 
  • “A real apology” from Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton and Assistant Chief John Catone for statements that BLM believes puts people more in harm’s way.

BLM Saratoga held the press conference after a protest last week that wound its way through the streets of Saratoga Springs with the police arresting five people, four on minor charges. Representatives of BLM said that the police were too aggressive in their tactics, outfitting themselves with shields, clubs and body armor, and then rushing the protesters who were retreating back toward Congress Park, they say. [Read the full story here.] BLM members reiterated that they came without weapons and none were found on those arrested.

The protest came on the heels of a press conference that Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton and Assistant Chief of Police John Catone held in which Catone said his department was not racist and he would use the 130 years that his family has lived in the area to call upon people to change the narrative. BLM has said that the use of such language has made life more difficult for people of color in the city.

Late calls to the police went unanswered today. A call to Commissioner Dalton also went unanswered.

Sidebar: About halfway through the press conference, in which people sat on the front steps of the City Hall building, the front door of City Hall was locked. 

It had been unlocked, and people had been moving in and out of it. 

In fact, one person had left City Hall and with bag of takeout food in hand, pulled and knocked hoping for entrance. Another person came and rescued her.

Mayor Kelly said she did not know and had no idea why the door was locked. A phone call to the Department of Public Works, the department which controls the building, went unanswered. To see more about the opening of city hall and the security around it, read here.