AG: Saratoga Springs BLM activist arrests violated rights – The Daily Gazette

The Attorney General concludes that, in 2021, [then-Public Safety Commissioner Robin] Dalton, [then-Mayor Meg] Kelly, and [then-city Police Chief Shane] Crooks implemented an unconstitutional official policy of retaliating against BLM protesters based on their speech, reads the report. The sweeping arrests violated the police departments written policies to protect protesters First Amendment rights. But they were conceived of and approved by the highest decision makers in city government. Because those arrests were caused by official hostility to the protesters and their message, they violated the First Amendment.

The conclusion stems from an investigation by the Attorney General Letitia James following the arrest of around a dozen protestors in between July and September 2021. The charges in those arrests were primarily dropped, while some were adjourned in contemplation of dismissal. The AG's investigation delved into comments made by officials at the time, interviews with members of the public including BLM members, other sworn testimony and approximately 276,809 documents, according to the report.

The arrests of BLM members led to a federal lawsuit filed by Saratoga BLM co-founder Lexis Figuereo and the city paying out thousands of dollars for the attorney fees of prior officials.

BLM has not released a statement on the report, but is expected to hold a press conference Thursday. The Attorney Generals Office declined to comment Wednesday.

The report criticizes city officials, as well as police department command staff, for not following policy and procedures, pursuing unsupported charges and creating an official policy of retaliating against BLM protesters during what the AG said were sometimes raucous, but peaceful demonstrations.

Numerous text messages between then-city officials and police department leaders called for the arrests of BLM members and activists several times in 2021, with the messages beginning from Dalton in March 2021.

Dalton texted both Crooks andRob Arrigo, who the report identifies as a Libertarian Party leader,about arresting protesters, according to the report.

At one point, Dalton messaged Crooks on July 14, 2021 arrest those motherf and that she would throw Crooks a ticker tape parade if he did arrest people.

They are on my list too, Crooks replied.

Crooks would go on to specifically identify Saratoga BLM co-founder Chandler Hickenbottom and Figuereo as two people who should be arrested, telling the AG in the report that he assumed they would be arrested for disorderly conduct or disrupting traffic.

Dalton also indicated in texts she wanted to punch Hickenbottom in the mouth and kick BLM protester Molly Dunn in the mouth for remarks they had made.

The AGs report also provides texts sent by Kelly asking that Child Protective Services be called to make sure his kids are being cared for correctly.

In order to identify protesters, police also conducted surveillance of them, according to the report.

The AGs report indicates that the police department sent a surveillance team out to identify people involved with Saratoga BLM and the protests a violation of the department policy.

...the SSPD forbids officers from recording the identity of those involved in First Amendment activity unless they are suspected of a crime, the report states.

However, the report asserts that two of the officers on that team Matthew Miller and John Guzek were narcotics officers at the time who had little training on the First Amendment.

Public Safety Commissioner Tim Coll said Miller is no longer with the department but Guzek is.

In the report, the AG states that no BLM protesters had been arrested for violent behavior, possessing a weapon or damaging propertyin the city before and, besides rumors, there was no indication that protesters had weapons or other contraband during the protests.

There was no justification for policing the protesters with the same surveillance techniques used in narcotics investigations, the report states.

Yet, according to the report, the officers pulled over two protestersafter they departed a protest on July 14, 2021.

NeitherAlexus Brown nor her boyfriend Marcus Filien are identified as the protester in the AGs report, however the date and details match the story provided to The Daily Gazette at the time.The two spoke to The Daily Gazette just days after the stop indicating police supplied no reason for the stop. Lt. Bob Jillson told The Daily Gazette at the time that someone had been making multiple trips back and forth to the car and its out of normal character.

The stop of Protester 1 was not based on reasonable suspicion but instead a pretextual stop motivated by Saratoga Springs official policy of retaliation against BLM protesters, the AGs report states.

Following the arrests of demonstrators in September 2021, around half a dozen Saratoga BLM supporters were blocked by city police officers from accessing Saratoga Springs City Court during the arraignments of fellow activists.

The city claimed the courts closed access, however, it was the city police department, according to the report.

The two officers who had closed the court claimed that a sergeant told them to do so, the report states. The sergeant claimed that the two officers misunderstood his order. When officers learned of that statement, they contended that the sergeant had explicitly ordered the courtroom closed.

Crooks eventually chalked the ordeal up to miscommunication.

The actions of city officials and the police department caused some activists to take a step back from protesting, according to the report.

After being arrested on September 7, 2021, Molly Dunn hasnt protested again and would be too anxious to go to a protest now, the report states.

Brown also noted she took a step back from demonstrations and Jamaica Miles, founder of community group All of Us, told the AGs office that she took a pause, noting she had children and had to make a decision.

Figuereo and Hickenbottom said people were less inclined to attend their protests because they could be arrested, with Hickenbottom stating in the report that it made our followers more apprehensive.

Other activists did continue to protest.

I am here to make the world a little bit better, even if that means state retaliation, saidAdam Walker, another protester quotedin the report. To make real change, you have to make sacrifices, and that is something I accept.

The AGs office contends in its report that, on numerous occasions, the police department didnt follow its own policies, properly investigate incidents or discipline officers.

Crooks said the AGs assertions that officials created a retaliatory policy against BLM is not correct.

Retaliation of any kind is not tolerated and against department policy, all complaints made to the department were investigated and decisions were made based on the known facts and state law, he said in an emailed statement Wednesday afternoon.

The AGs report also stated that the city, Kelly and Crooks did not adequately respond to subpoenas. Kelly said in an emailed statement Thursday that is patently false.

My attorney has sent the Attorney General the attached letter proving the report statements are untrue and asking that the report be amended to reflect the truth, she said in an email Wednesday.

Kelly provided the letter her attorney Karl Sleight sent to the AG regarding the investigation, in which Sleight points out what they contend are multiple inaccuracies in the report.

It is profoundly disappointing that the Attorney General failed to produce a product that could have been a helpful guide to the current City Council to understand the intricacies of the First Amendment and what is, and is not, protected speech, the letter states. Instead, after several years and a significant expense of taxpayer dollars, the Report is incomplete, error-ridden, and a skewed work product that appears meant for purposes other than improving the City of Saratoga Springs.

The AG has put forth eight recommendations to the city and police department that requires the city and its police department to change policies and procedures around responding to protests and activists, including prohibiting city officials from ordering the arrest of protesters and prohibiting the use of surveillance of activists. The agreement could also require the city to bolster its record-keeping policies after the Attorney Generals investigators couldnt locate key public records relevant to their investigation.

The city would also have to improve the internal affairs and disciplinary process in the police department as well as create after-action reports following a police response to protests.

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AG: Saratoga Springs BLM activist arrests violated rights - The Daily Gazette