A report on the death of Darryl Mount Jr. will likely not accuse Saratoga Springs police officers of wrongdoing in the death of the man who police say fell off a scaffold near Broadway during a police chase in 2013. Mount entered into a coma and died months later in 2014.
However, the actions and decisions of then-Police-Chief Gregory Veitch will likely draw more scrutiny.
So says Saratoga Springs Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino. He plans to release his report on the death of Darryl Mount Jr. by Friday Feb. 11, he told FoothillsBusinessDaily.com. Montagnino's report is based on the 1,500-plus pages of public documents related to a civil case against the city brought by Mount’s family.
In 2017, Veitch said under oath that he had not completed a full investigation into police actions as he had led the public to believe, and the city council at that time did not push for a complete investigation.
An attorney and former prosecutor, Montagnino had said on the campaign trail last fall that he and a small team would produce a report by January just as he took office, but Montagnino fell sick with COVID, and the report had been delayed.
Montagnino has held that a grand jury could investigate this issue further, but Saratoga County District Attorney Karen Heggen, who would open the grand jury investigation, has said that she has seen no new evidence that would compel her to open one. She said she too has read the pages of documents, and Montagnino's report seems to agree that there is no evidence of illegal activity on the part of police.
As well, Heggen maintains that an investigative grand jury, slightly different than a criminal grand jury, can only reprimand people for their actions, and since Veitch retired in 2018, there is no one to reprimand.
Montagnino says investigative grand juries can issue findings that aid in policy and legislative decisions.
The law, section 190.85, 1c, says the grand jury may issue a report “proposing recommendations for legislative, executive or administrative action in the public interest based upon stated findings.” Montagnino said in an interview that the investigative grand jury would allow the public to iron out conflicting testimony exposed in the civil proceedings and therefore it is of value.
Heggen and Montagnino have argued publicly over whether a grand jury of this type can grant immunity to witnesses in order to ensure honest testimony. Montagnino believes they can, but Heggen has pushed back.