A long-awaited report from the New York State Attorney General’s Office finds the Saratoga Springs police department and former city officials violated the constitutional rights of Black Lives Matter demonstrators over a two-year period.
More than two years after WAMC broke the news that the office of New York State Attorney General Tish James was investigating the city’s interactions with BLM demonstrators, the final report obtained by WAMC Wednesday paints a portrait of intimidation and targeting of Black Lives Matter protestors by former city officials.
The 28-page report faults former Mayor Meg Kelly, former Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton, former Police Chief Shane Crooks and former Assistant Chief John Catone for retaliating against and violating the civil rights of Black Lives Matter protesters in 2020 and 2021.
The report references internal communications between former officials and WAMC reporting.
Dalton and Kelly repeatedly ordered Crooks to arrest protestors and expressed disdain for them in text messages laid out in the report.
During a July 2021 protest when demonstrators marched on Broadway on the eve of the summer racing season, Dalton asked Crooks to “please, please, please, pretty please arrest someone.” Dalton promised a “ticker tape parade” if Saratoga BLM organizers Lexis Figuereo and Chandler Hickenbottom were arrested. Crooks responded by saying the activists were on his “list.”
The AG’s office says Crooks did not share texts containing an arrest “list” with investigators, who testified that he may have deleted those messages because of their inappropriateness. The texts were eventually shared by Dalton.
The report also finds officials including Kelly did not "fully comply" with the probe. In one example, the report says Kelly submitted only 53 pages of relevant text messages to investigators, whereas Dalton turned over more than 37,000 pages.
Investigators say Dalton in multiple instances demanded protestors be arrested without any offenses taking place, and as Public Safety Commissioner used violent language when discussing protest organizers.
Mark Mishler, the attorney for multiple Saratoga BLM members, says he and his clients are not surprised by the report’s findings.
“What is so significant is that this is the New York State Attorney General’s office. That they put the level of time and effort into this and have been able to document, in a very clear way, that there were policies and practices of the city of Saratoga Springs that were designed to and did interfere with and infringe upon the First Amendment rights of activists,” said Mishler.
Current Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll said the city police department has “already incorporated some important changes.”
Commissioner of Finance Minita Sanghvi says she’s grateful for the report and hopes it can begin to help the city move forward. She’s hopeful the investigation can expand to cover more recent treatment of BLM organizers like arrests made during city council meetings.
“We really wish that the AG’s office would put in more resources to investigate the issue further so that people of color in Saratoga Springs, marginalized communities may feel that somebody’s got their back and somebody is paying attention to these violations that have continued happening in city council,” said Sanghvi.
Sanghvi said the AG’s office will be monitoring the city for the next five to eight years.
The report makes multiple recommendations including barring officials from ordering the investigation or arrest of specific individuals, as well as requiring the SSPD to maintain all documentation between the department and city officials, and preventing the department from surveilling protestors.
Dalton did not respond to a request for comment.
In a statement Kelly said…“The statements contained in the Attorney General’s report that I was not fully cooperative with the inquiry are patently false.” Kelly says her attorney has sent the AG a letter proving the report statements are untrue and asking that the report be amended to reflect the truth.
In a statement Wednesday evening, current Mayor John Safford said city officials were reviewing the AG's report as well as developing and implementing policies to address the recommendations made by the AG's office.
"There are several areas in the report for which the City will seek additional clarity from the Attorney General but, first and foremost, the City is committed to continuous improvement in service to the public,” Safford said.
The Attorney General's Office says it plans to release additional information and hold a public session on the report. The office says it will also enter negotiations with the city to implement reforms.
2024.02.16 Sspd Compiled Report Final-final by WAMC News on Scribd
