Saratoga Springs has retained Glens Falls attorney John Aspland, of FitzGerald, Morris, Baker and Firth, to represent the city in the newly-opened investigation of the police department by the New York State Attorney General’s office.
Media outlets have reported that the AG’s office has opened an investigation following SSPD’s treatment of protestors on July 14, 2021; charges of disorderly conduct made against some during a city council meeting on July 20; and the arrests of people outside police headquarters in September.
[WAMC broke the story over the weekend. The Times Union and Daily Gazette have picked it up. FoothillsBusinessDaily.com reported yesterday that the incoming Commissioner of Public Safety will change arrest policy in the wake of the July 14 protests.]
A statement from the current Commissioner of Public Safety, Robin Dalton, says:
“The City of Saratoga Springs has received correspondence from the Civil Rights Bureau of the New York State Attorney General’s Office concerning allegations of possible violations of state and federal law as it relates to recent protests that occurred in our city.
“The OAG has commenced this investigation to assess whether the protestors were targeted with excessive force and retaliatory arrests. The City takes these allegations seriously and we will endeavor to work with the OAG to address these allegations and demonstrate the appropriateness of the actions taken by the members of the police department in response to the recent protests.”
During a press conference Monday Nov. 15, Lexis Figuereo said he has been working with the AG’s office for about three months, ever since the July protests and has had two interviews with them. Figuereo is the leader of the Saratoga Black Lives Matter group and was arrested in September for two petty offenses related to the protest.
“That makes me feel very happy,” that the investigation is progressing, Figuereo said yesterday.
“We have the right to speak anywhere we want to speak,” he said. “We have the right to protest.
“We’re going to hold them [the police department] accountable for everything they’ve done.”
He added that he hopes the Attorney General’s office will investigate the death of Darryl Mount, who died in 2013 after being chased by police. Figuereo has said that what makes this especially troublesome is that three officers involved on duty during the July protest were also on duty the night of Mount’s death.
James Montagnino, the presumptive commissioner-elect for Public Safety, said he is reading through newly released documents in the Mount case and will have a report ready for his first day in office. He may ask the Saratoga County District Attorney's office to open an investigatory grand jury, which does not look to indict people but to seek the truth of what happened.
The Office of the Attorney General did not respond to a request for comment yesterday.