It’s not safety vs. justice
Some people deal with criticism by showing why it’s unfair. Then there are those, like Saratoga Springs Assistant Police Chief John Catone, who seem to go out of their way to prove their critics’ case.
Assistant Chief Catone, joined by Commissioner of Public Safety Robin Dalton, went on a tear this past Monday that sounded so many wrong notes when it comes to complaints of systemic racism in the criminal justice system that it was hard to keep track.
It would be one thing if all the assistant chief wanted to do was denounce violence. Instead, he delivered a rant filled with racist dog whistles, punctuated by what came off as a threat to summon the collective forces of the city’s historically white power establishment to put an end to what he called “a narrative of lies and misinformation.”
Let’s start with the most important thing of all: It is not the job of those in law enforcement to shut down speech they don’t like. That threat alone should be enough for Assistant Chief Catone to turn in his badge and gun
To comment: and retire early. And for sitting by his side, nodding in apparent agreement, Commissioner Dalton should resign, and drop her bid for mayor.
We are in no way defending any violence that has taken place in Saratoga Springs, including a brawl Saturday night on Caroline Street and some alleged recent muggings in Congress Park. We in no way support demonstrators carrying bats, as one organizer acknowledged some did in the past.
We do support people’s right to demonstrate, to express their views that there are racial problems in their police department, and to petition their government for redress of their grievances. If that discomfits some in a community that thrives on tourism and its image as a charming, gentrified, historic American city, well, that’s the First Amendment for you.
Assistant Chief Catone doesn’t seem to see it that way. He railed about how critics of his department were “trying to push a narrative from a national stage” — a reference to the Black Lives Matter movement — and talked of “gangs from Albany” — read: young men of color — coming up to Saratoga Springs to sell drugs and cause trouble. In wrapping all this into one speech, he conflated drug gangs and Black Lives Matter activists, an outrageous rhetorical slander whether he intended it or not.
And then this: “... I will, on my final eight months on the job, pull out every single connection my family has made over the last 130 years and I will stop your narrative.” And this: “You are either with us or you’re not.”
For good measure, he blamed criminal justice reforms passed by the state Legislature, which included ending a system in which low-income people unable to make bail were jailed without trial while those of means could readily buy their freedom.
So it’s police against “them,” and everyone has to pick sides? This is Assistant Chief Catone and Commissioner Dalton’s idea of a unified community?
What they present is the false choice that so many misguided or opportunistic politicians and demagogues offer: that it’s either law, order, and unquestioning support of police, or chaos.
A truly strong society — whether it’s a small city or the richly diverse nation it’s a part of — must be both safe and just. For all.