Albany officer wins decision
Mayor Sheehan claims exoneration by arbitrator follows biased conclusions
An independent arbitrator exonerated city police officer Matthew Seeber of all charges last week for his role in an incident in March 2019 on First Street.
In response, Mayor Kathy Sheehan wrote a letter to the state board that handles police arbitration, criticizing the arbitrator’s “racially biased conclusions,” and asking the board to stop using him.
The ruling came nearly two years to the day that Seeber and other officers responded to 523 First St. for calls of a loud party. Three men — Lee Childs, Mario Gorostiza and Armando Sanchez —were arrested only to have their
charges dropped after cellphone video of officers kicking Gorostiza was forwarded to police department leaders, sparking an investigation.
In January 2020, the department moved to fire Seeber, as well as officers Adam Iannacito and Luke Deer. Deer was also charged with felony assault and official misconduct. Five other officers, mostly supervisors, were recommended for discipline or further training.
Seeber was one of the first two officers on the scene and kicked open the door to Childs’ apartment after he refused to open the door and let officers in to arrest him. Seeber then released a jet of pepper spray toward several people inside.
He was charged with failing to file two use of force reports, failing to warn anyone before using pepper spray, unlawfully forced entry into Childs’ apartment and conduct unbecoming an officer.
The crux of the case was whether he violated Childs’ constitutional right to privacy when he kicked in the door.
In his testimony, Seeber offered several defenses, including that by not acting quickly while standing in the
doorway waiting for Childs to come out, he was putting himself at greater risk of harm, including potentially being shot at by someone inside.
Robert J. Rabin, the arbitrator who heard the case, said at its core it was about a judgment call by Seeber. He wrote that the department failed to provide enough evidence that Seeber acted improperly or against his training.
In his decision, Rabin cited Deputy Chief Edward Donohue, who testified on behalf of the department. Donohue admitted under cross-examination that his personal opinion was that Seeber shouldn’t have been fired. Instead, he believed Seeber should have been counseled and received more training. Rabin agreed with that assessment and suggested that Seeber’s firing was the result of public outrage.
“I’m fairly confident that this is what the department would have done if this incident had not gone viral,” he wrote.
In a statement, Police Chief Eric Hawkins said he believed he made the right decision in calling for
Seeber’s firing.
“As such, I strongly disagree with the decision made by the arbitrator. However, I am compelled to accept this decision and believe that it is time to move forward. The Albany Police Department remains committed to strengthening relationships with our community and working together to solve problems and enhance public safety.”
On Monday, Sheehan wrote a letter to the state Public Employee Relations Board, asking it not to use Rabin as an arbitrator anymore. Sheehan wrote not only did she disagree with Rabin’s decision but that she believed racial bias played a role in it.
Sheehan took issue with Rabin’s general description of the surrounding neighborhood and the people in the home itself.
“One need only look to the first paragraph of the opinion to see he skipped the dog whistle and went right to clear bias and racial animus,” she wrote.
In the opening of his decision, based off six days of testimony from city police officers and department leaders, Rabin calls First Street a rough part of town and those inside 523 First St. “dangerous.”
“This was not simply a raucous college party, like many in the nearby neighborhood, or a book club celebrating its final meeting of the season. No, these were dangerous criminals, including drug dealers, who had committed violent acts in the past... Most of the participants were probably armed,” he wrote.
In a phone call Tuesday, Rabin said that summary was based on testimony and evidence entered into the record and that focusing on that paragraph ignored evidence he used to draw his legal conclusions. He denied that racial bias played a role in his decision.
“People may disagree with my decisions, but nobody’s ever questioned my integrity or my motivations,” he said.
The department has never said it recovered any weapons or that it searched any of the people involved in the incident other than those arrested.
One officer reported hearing during a previous call to the home that those inside wanted to “take out” officers responding but that allegation was never corroborated.
In an interview Tuesday, Sheehan said the decision to exonerate Seeber makes it more difficult for Hawkins and other city leaders to create a culture change in the police department.
“I was so shocked and offended by the tone,” she said. “I believe that the officer in this case benefited from an arbitrator who shared his racial bias.”
The city is bound by state law and its union contract to use the board and its panel of arbitrators when it comes to discipline appeals. Sheehan said the city did not have a viable route to appeal the decision.
Councilman Jahmel Robinson, who represents the West Hill neighborhood, said the decision would only serve to cause further pain in the neighborhood.
“It’s a clear example of systemic racism that permeates our legal system,” he said. “Because if they could do this to one house, what is to say it can’t happen to the next-door neighbor.”
He said he would be working with the council to strengthen policies against officers who commit similar acts.
“This is why so many people in our city marched over the summer, because we are tired of decisions like this coming in favor of officers who we know violated the people’s rights,” he said.
Greg Mcgee, president of the police officer’s union, said he had seen the decision.
“We respect the decision, we’re obviously pleased with the outcome and believe it’s the correct one, and we look for to his return to duty,” he said.
Seeber will not return to patrol duty immediately. Among other issues, he will have to complete any training the department held over the two years he was suspended before he returns. He will also receive back pay for the 30-day unpaid suspension he served while the department investigated him.
An internal Albany Police Department report the on the incident the Times Union obtained last summer revealed misconduct by officers on the scene as well as a more general breakdown in law enforcement management and leadership.
Arbitrators have not issued decisions for the other two officers who are challenging their firings.
Iannacito’s arbitration proceedings are under way, with attorneys preparing final briefs, Mcgee said. Deer’s arbitration hasn’t started. His criminal case is still pending, waiting for the Albany County district attorney’s office to present its case to the grand jury.
The city has settled civil rights claims filed by Mario Gorostiza and Armando Sanchez, the other two men who were arrested. On Tuesday it settled Childs’ claims against the city for $100,000.
City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs said the city has paid out more than $1 million to settle police misconduct claims since 2015. A racial bias audit that Applyrs released last year found that Black residents filed 66 percent of the civil rights lawsuits against the city for police misconduct while making up 28 percent of the city’s population.
“There is no price tag large enough to erase the pain and trauma experienced by victims of police misconduct,” Applyrs said in a statement. “The actions of a few officers have damaging effects on the reputation of our police department and our neighborhoods. Especially, among our Black residents who are dealing with the implications of centuries of systemic and structural racism.”