The director of public information for New York Courts says that the court officers on duty at Saratoga Springs City Court Tuesday Sept. 21 had nothing to do with stopping people from entering the courtroom to see the arraignment hearings of Black Lives Matter protesters.
This issue came to the fore during the Saratoga Springs City Council meeting Tuesday evening, Sept. 21 when a number of people said they were denied access to court and even City Hall itself by Saratoga Springs Police and were not told why. Videos in circulation on social media corroborate this.
“The fault lies with the Saratoga City Police. We had no idea this was occurring and at no point, did we close the courtroom, or deny access to anyone. Indeed, once we were alerted to the situation, we took immediate action with the Saratoga City Police to ensure that all who appeared were permitted entry,” Lucian Chalfen wrote to FoothillsBusinessDaily.com moments ago. Chalfen is the director of public information for the New York State Unified Court System, or NY Courts, and was writing from an official email account. “There was absolutely no judge-directed closure of the courtroom on Tuesday or any communication from administration to Saratoga City Police to prevent access to the court.”
Chalfen continued: “On Wednesday morning, our Chief sent an email to Assistant Police Chief [John] Catone regarding this incident. The Chief advised Catone what had occurred on Tuesday and told him that court is open, that all who seek admittance should be permitted entry and explained our procedures when we are approaching COVID capacity.”
Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton said she spoke to Assistant Chief Catone today but made no reference to any correspondence between SSPD and NY Courts during a subsequent interview with FoothillsBusinessDaily.com.
In a text moments ago, Dalton said, "The assistant chief is working with the court chief to determine where the miscommunication happened and hopes to have information by Monday."
During the interview earlier today, Dalton said, "What I can piece together is that it seems like we were getting a variety of reports in the courthouse." Many people were saying many different things.
Dalton said that she sees a problem with communication between the “second and first floor.” That is, court officers on the second floor of City Hall and the Saratoga Springs Police Department on the first floor. They are two law enforcement agencies and might not have been talking clearly, she said.
Dalton also said that they need a more clear policy between them that indicates how and when court is closed. She said the policy of placing an SSPD officer near the entryway of City Hall on the first floor, where the public signs into the building, and policies for that officer to follow might not be clear. Adding to the murkiness, any policy would have to be worked out between her office and the Accounts Department which oversees risk assessment and insurance.
"I don't think there was any bad intention,” she said, but "It's not something we want to have happen again."
She continued: "We don't want to exacerbate [the stress between city leadership and protestors], and this just exacerbated it."
This, too, was challenged by the email from NYCourts: “The [NY Courts] Sergeant [on Tuesday] then went down to the main entrance (which is staffed by the Saratoga City Police) and spoke with one of the officers. The Sergeant advised the officer that court is open to the public and there are no restrictions. The police officer said he was advised by his supervisor to not let anyone in.”
Sgt. Lori Capitini, who the clerk of the court’s office identified as a NY Courts sergeant on duty Tuesday, said she could not comment and directed FoothillsBusinessDaily.com to reach out to the New York Courts office.
About a dozen people have been arrested for their involvement during a BLM protest that blocked traffic in Saratoga Springs on July 14 [read more here], for their involvement in a disruptive city council meeting on July 20 [read more here] or for activity related to those events [read more here].
People, including well-known Black Lives Matter protestors, who entered the courthouse this morning, Sept. 23, said they were not stopped or waylaid.