Petty offenders in Saratoga Springs will be called to court rather than arrested, if the crime occurred in the past, Commissioner of Public Safety James Montagnino announced as the last item of the city council meeting Tuesday Feb. 1. The policy says that police may still make arrests at the time of the offense if that is needed, but after the fact, offenders “shall be sought by way of summons in lieu of an arrest warrant.”
This is another change being made to the way the city does its business since the Black Lives Matter protests of last July.
Arrest warrants were issued long after the July protest and executed the day after the end of the annual horse racing season. Both the arrests and the timing sparked more protests.
Many of the offenses included disorderly conduct, a simple violation, not a criminal act. The policy is aimed at these infractions.
The police maintained that the arrests were made after the busy summer season and that they were not political in nature.
The public comment periods during city council meetings for the remainder of the year were bitter and loud as supporters of the BLM movement argued with the council.
[Read about the protest here; the arrests here; the city council shouting here, here and here.]
More than one dozen have been arrested for petty violations (infractions similar to a speeding ticket) and many of those arrested have been given “adjournment in contemplation of dismissal,” for their actions. An ACOD says that if the person does not commit a crime in a certain amount of time, the initial charges will then be dropped.
After his election last fall, Montagnino said he would look to change the policy.
He maintained then as now that police can still make arrests if they see a crime occur and can take action in the moment, but in most cases, a summons to appear in court would be sent or given to someone if a later investigation determines a crime was committed.
He has said that the city should not be treating protestors and petty offenders as "common criminals."
In “special circumstances” the police may issue an arrest warrant, the new policy states, and they are required in the paperwork to explain what the circumstance was and why the arrest was needed.
“‘Special Circumstances’ shall include, but not be limited to, situations in which the service of a summons upon the defendant may reasonably result in a risk of harm to a victim, witness or other person,” the policy says.
Montagnino told FoothillsBusinessDaily.com that a domestic dispute would be a good example. Perhaps a wife calls in what is legally a petty offense—a slap or a shove—the day after her husband committed it.
Since a summons to appear in court might only anger the husband further and cause more harm to the wife, an arrest might be in the best interest to keep the wife safe, he said.
The new policy was effective immediately, Montagnino said during the board meeting.