DA, cop take issue with defender’s comments
A statement made by Ulster County’s public defender to protesters at a rally has angered the county’s district attorney and at least one member of the Kingston Police Benevolent Association.
On Tuesday, speaking outside the Kingston City Court building to about 30 protesters, Public Defender Andrew Kossover referred to the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, in stating that citizens have a right “to be left alone ... to enjoy our privacy, our freedom of movement.”
Protesters had gathered to support Adrin Brodhead, 24, of Kingston, who was arrested by city police in front of the 440 Pizzeria on Broadway in Midtown on July 20 and charged with violating the city’s open container ordinance and littering. Brodhead also was charged with resisting arrest, a misdemeanor, for not putting his hands behind his back when asked to do so by police. His case was adjourned Tuesday until Sept. 12.
Brodhead, who is black, has said he was walking home from work and was carrying an open beer container when he was approached by police who requested identification. After not placing his hands behind his back, Brodhead said, he was tackled to the ground by officers, pepper sprayed and tased.
Some of the demonstrators on Tuesday alleged police brutality and racism, citing Brodhead’s treatment by police officers they said were white.
In response to Kossover’s statement, District Attorney Holley Carnright issued a press release and posted the release on his blog Wednesday stating, “It would be a mistake on my part to accept as fact that comments which have been attributed to Mr. Kossover were actually made. I am reasonably sure that Mr. Kossover would not actually say that a person who violates the law in the presence of a police officer is free to disregard a reasonable inquiry or demands of a police officer who has witnessed criminal behavior. That, obviously, is not the law.
“In the context of his client having engaged in illegal behavior, Mr. Kossover was quoted ‘We have a right to be left alone. We get to enjoy our privacy, our freedom of movement .... ’ Nothing could be further from the truth.”
Reached Thursday, Kossover said he was not misquoted. “The context in which it was said made it impossible to make a complete introduction to law class outside the courthouse,” he said, declining further comment.
In his press release, Carnright continued, “We rely on police officers to keep us safe and to enforce our laws. As the district attorney, I certainly hope that people do not fail to obey the lawful order of a police officer.”
Carnright did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
Bryan Aitken, treasurer of the Kingston Police Benevolent Association and a patrol officer for the city, called the Freeman on Thursday to express his concern that Kossover’s comments “jeopardized the safety of our officers.”
“We don’t want people to read Mr. Kossover’s comments to mean I can walk down the street with a beer and the police can’t stop me,” Aitken said. “You can’t say, ‘I don’t want to be detained’ and walk away. You’re still breaking the law.”
Even if officers are issuing a traffic ticket or ticketing an individual for violating a city ordinance, such as the ones Brodhead was accused of violating, the officer will complete an arrest report, Aitken said.
He said the ticketing officer will ask dispatch to run the person’s name through a computer system to determine if there are outstanding warrants or parole violations. At a minimum, he said, a person stopped by police must provide a name and birth date.
If people were able to walk away from police officers, Aitken said, “everyone would just be walking around with open containers. They’d be in the parks after hours ... disobeying noise ordinances.”
The public defender’s statement puts officers at risk, he said, because suspects might interpret it as giving them permission to walk away from cops on the beat, causing situations to escalate unnecessarily.