Fallout from a New York Attorney General’s report that found Saratoga Springs officials unconstitutionally targeted protestors continues.
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 Black Lives Matter demonstrators, a final report released last month paints a portrait of intimidation and targeting of BLM protestors by former city officials.
BLM organizers held a press conference in the wake of the report’s release, calling for accountability from current and past officials, and criticizing current Democratic Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll for saying the report had “gross inaccuracies.”
Before the final report was released to the public, Coll released a statement that claimed there was misleading wording within the first pages of a preliminary version shared with city officials.
Tuesday night, Saratoga Springs residents asked for an apology from Coll, alleging his intent was to deflect from the findings of the report and criticize the Attorney General before the report was publicly released.
Kristen Dart, who ran against Coll in November’s election as an independent, was among those who spoke during the city council meeting.
“The first thing that was done was an attempt to discredit it. And you weren’t even honest about who you were critiquing, because heaven forbid we use the word ‘and.’ Your statement could have read, ‘the SSPD and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s department violated the civil rights of protestors.’ The first that should have happened was an apology. Apologies cost no money, but apologies are absolutely needed to make progress,” said Dart.
A public comment period was extended beyond the 30-minute limit as residents lined up to speak. Rebecca Allen Lynch commented on what the AG report concluded were baseless arrests and illegal harassment of protestors.
“Was it intended to silence? Definitely. Was it unprofessional, unethical, amoral, and anti-democratic? Undoubtedly. I would ask that we all sit with what this means when individuals with power wield it to silence dissent. When they fabricate cases and use selective prosecution to target political adversaries. When our elected officials will not hold themselves and others accountable for undermining our democracy, and the humanity of others. I will hold the remainder of my time for us to reflect, and who knows, maybe apologize,” said Lynch.
Coll, a registered Democrat elected with the Republican endorsement in November, explained his initial reaction, which he says was to clarify some of the language within the report.
“And if you’re going to make an allegation after months, of misconduct, against a police agency you need to get the agency correct. And I sat down with the Attorney General’s Office and they made the correction that in fact it was two other agencies that fired pepper balls as well as having an MRAT there,” said Coll.
New York State Police and the Saratoga County Sheriff’s office assisted the City of Saratoga Springs Police Department in response to a July 2020 Black Lives Matter counterdemonstration, where pepper balls and an armored vehicle were deployed to control crowds. BLM protesters blocked Broadway following a pro-police “Back the Blue” demonstration.
Democratic City Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi responded to the angered residents.
“We are actively working on this, we are listening. We do hear you, we do understand what you have been through and we accept the AG’s report. It may not be perfect, maybe there’s a comma issue, but we understand what you’re saying that the essence of the report says a lot more than just that piece,” said Sanghvi.
Democratic Public Works Commissioner Jason Golub also spoke in favor of continuing conversations regarding the report and its recommendations, with some activist pushback.
“These are issues that have been here for a long time and it’s enough. We need to acknowledge what has happened. We need to take those recommendations seriously,” said Golub.
“You guys have the power to do this,” said Samira Sangare.
“Please, we listened to you,” said Mayor John Safford.
“And I’m willing to work with anyone and everyone to do that, but it has to be together, and it can’t be every other Tuesday for half-an-hour,” said Golub.
The council unanimously passed a tolling agreement with James’ office giving additional time for further investigations into the city’s mistreatment of protestors.
Republican Mayor John Safford, who ran on a platform of restoring order to city hall, did not answer activists’ calls for an apology. There is no requirement that city councilors must respond during public comment period.
“Our policy is not to react at all. We don’t react to speakers at all, but we’re here to listen to what they have to say. That was a problem I think we’ve had in the past,” said Safford.
The city is facing lawsuits from BLM organizers the AG found were unfairly and unconstitutionally targeted. Safford’s comments on the report have been limited. In a statement after its release, he said the city would learn from it. Safford spoke to reporters after the meeting.
“And we have been listening to that emotion for a while. And there are practicalities to this whole thing that--we're trying to protect the city as much as we can but to hear what the people are saying.”
