The former Saratoga Springs police chief took the stand Friday in the civil trial where jurors will determine if police were responsible for injuring Darryl Mount Jr. in August 2013. Mount died nine months later.
Former chief Greg Veitch was questioned about department policies in place at the time of the incident. Veitch said he took it upon himself to conduct an investigation that could have been considered an internal affairs investigation, but not did reveal it publicly at the time or create a dedicated file for that investigation. A 2018 Times Union report revealed that in testimony from 2017, Veitch admitted to intentionally misleading a Saratogian reporter regarding the department’s review of the incident.
Police chased Mount on foot after he was reportedly seen pushing his girlfriend into a wall. During the chase, police lost sight of Mount. Minutes later, he was found seriously injured at the base of a construction scaffold. The 22-year-old died in May 2014.
The trial has adjourned for the week. Mount’s family brought the lawsuit.