Officer describes Brodhead as difficult
Court hears about arrest of allegedly roughed-up suspect
Kingston Police Officer Matthew Bagalonis testified Tuesday that before arresting Adrin Brodhead, he offered to let the 24-year-old off with a warning for having an open container of beer on a city street.
Bagalonis testified during a hearing in Kingston City Court that he arrested Brodhead — who supporters say was roughed up by police during the incident — after Brodhead would not agree to be handcuffed.
Brodhead was charged with misdemeanor resisting arrest and the violations of open container and littering. The hearing was held before City Judge Philip Kirschner to determine whether police had probable cause to arrest Brodhead.
Bagalonis said he was on patrol when he saw Brodhead and another man walking on Broadway. He said Brodhead was carrying a paper bag, which Bagalonis said he believed contained a beer. Bagalonis said when Brodhead tossed the bag into the road, he confronted the two.
“I advised Mr. Brodhead that open container was an offense he could be arrested for, or he could pour it out and he could be given a warning,” Bagalonis said.
The officer said the other man retrieved the bag and a can from the road.
Bagalonis testified under questioning by Ulster County Public Defender Andrew Kossover that he decided to arrest Brodhead after another officer arrived on the scene “because
it was difficult getting information from the two men” — although the officer conceded under questioning that Brodhead gave him his name several times, spelling it at least once — and because Brodhead would not put his hands behind his back to be handcuffed.
Asked by Kossover if Brodhead was under arrest at that time, Bagalonis said “no.” But asked if Brodhead was free to go at
that time, Bagalonis also said “no.”
Kingston Police Officer Kenneth Palmer testified that when he arrived, he heard one of the men yelling about the fact that there were three police officers on the scene and he heard Bagalonis tell Brodhead to put his hands behind his back so he could be cuffed.
“I grabbed him by his arm, he started tensing up, so I took him to the
ground,” Palmer said.
Palmer said he attempted to pepper-spray Brodhead but that his canister was empty. He said Officer Frank Saracino used a taser on Brodhead while Brodhead was on the ground.
Saracino did not answer a subpoena to appear in court Tuesday.
Kingston Corporation Counsel Kevin Bryant has said “three or four” officers were expected to be disciplined in connection with the incident, but he has declined to provide their names or say what the discipline might be.
Brodhead rejected a deal in October under which the open container and littering charges would have been dropped in exchange for him pleading guilty to disorderly conduct.
Earlier this month, Brodhead was arraigned on an unrelated Family Court matter.