The attorneys handling the case of a former Saratoga County police officer accused of slapping a civilian are preparing for trial, while a group of civilians have filed a petition to voice their views.
Former Saratoga County sheriff’s deputy Shawn Glans will appear in court in the coming weeks. Glans resigned in November after video posted on social media allegedly showed him physically and verbally attacking two men in Halfmoon.
The two civilians in the video, Colin Fitch of Saratoga Springs, and Adam Roberts of Ballston Spa, claimed Glans violated their civil rights. Glans was charged with official misconduct and harassment after the video was widely circulated around the Internet and drew national media attention.
The Saratoga County District Attorney’s office appointed Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan as a special prosecutor in the case, which led to the postponement of a trial date set in December.
Jordan said he expressed to Glans’ defense attorney, Matthew Chauvin, before the postponed trial date, that he believed the charges brought forward by the county were appropriate.
“I had expressed to him that I felt that the charges that had been filed were appropriate and he did not. And I think that brought about the discussion of ‘Was there a plea offer? And was it offered and was it rejected?’ And I think at this point, which is often the case in criminal matters, early on the defense attorney and prosecution may not always agree on certain elements and facets, and that’s part of the process to work through.”
Chauvin said he would provide more information to the prosecution in the near future.
“As always with a prosecutor and defense attorney there’s always a difference of opinion, and I think there are defenses to the case that exist and we’re exploring an agreed-upon disposition between the prosecution and defense, and hopefully we’ll reach an agreement that is acceptable to my client, and is acceptable to the prosecution and the court.”
Jordan said he believed the charges brought against Glans were fair.
“The Saratoga County DA”s office and Sheriff’s office did a good job in terms of investigating the law and researching, and did find support for within the law and the facts for the official misconduct charge, which is the criminal charge, for the act he engaged in.”
But some are seeking stronger charges against Glans. This week, a 2,000-signature petition was delivered by Glens Falls resident Christopher Schmidt, reportedly asking for more charges as well as the release of the name of the officer accompanying Glans.
Jordan said he was notified of the petition, but had not yet read it on Wednesday afternoon.
“I’ve heard through other…in other discussions with other people that it’s less directed at saying there should be more charges or what they should be, and more about saying ‘This is bothering us’. But we’ll take a look at what they submitted and see if there’s anything relevant in there.”
At a time of tension and protests against police, Defense attorney Chauvin said the case may be the victim of larger, national conversation. He also weighed in on the petition.
“I don’t think that either the prosecutor or defendant or defense attorney should be making decisions based upon the opinions the public at large that’s not fully informed," said Chauvin.
Petition-deliverer Christopher Schmidt, who publishes the Glens Falls-based Observation Post was unavailable for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Update 1/9/215:
Christopher Schmidt emailed WAMC a statement regarding the case:
"Many of us understand, there is need for criminal justice reform in our country. In order to receive oversight and accountability, we have to improve procedural practice and this particular case highlights the reason why. It is disappointing that the our elected public officials aren't taking these constitutional abuses serious enough and in fact seem to be minimizing the issue through political maneuvering. If nothing is done at the local level, we are forced to turn to the state and federal governments to hold our public officials accountable. This isn't a matter of public opinion, but of law and order. What type of precedent does this set for our community? "
