A virtual community forum hosted on Wednesday evening by the Saratoga Springs Police Department and city Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton, has garnered deep frustration from the community members in attendance. The Zoom forum—following social distancing protocol—was the first in a series of monthly discussions to be hosted by the SSPD and Department of Public Safety. According to its Facebook event, the community dialogue was intended to discuss “plans for the department and our city in response to the murder of George Floyd.” Yet, throughout the course of the event, Commissioner Dalton alongside Saratoga Springs Police Chief Shane Crooks and Assistant Police Chief John Catone repeatedly dodged and downplayed all mentions of racially motivated policing and anti-Black discrimination in the town.
Most blatantly evaded, was any discussion surrounding the case of Darryl Mount Jr., an 18-year-old Saratoga Springs resident who was killed in 2013 during a police chase. Multiple attempts to conceal the truth pertaining to the events of that night—as well as the protection of the officers involved, including then-Police Chief Greg Veitch—have been persistently resisted by demands for justice by Mount’s family and town activists. The unresolved case is currently in its seventh year and is an ongoing lawsuit, which Dalton claimed was the sole reason behind why she and the Police Department were prohibited from addressing it.
The case of Darryl Mount had been a major draw for the attendance of over a hundred participants, residents and activists—many of whom were hoping the dialogue would address to some degree. Within the Zoom function’s chat group, anger and disappointment erupted. “The Darryl Mount case is the reason most of us are here…” one resident typed.
Despite feeling disheartened by the turn of events, Black community members continued to speak out, citing a litany of examples of feeling singled out and mistreated by Saratoga police officers.
“What is going on here with this police department?” asked resident Nedra Hickenbottom. “I cannot send my kids out without someone having to follow them or worrying about them since they were little, because I have to worry about my kids of color being harassed [by the police].”
Lexis Figuereo, Hickenbottom’s son and notable community organizer, brought up examples of how he is frequently profiled and harassed by police officers, as he has been for much of his life here.
“You are not addressing the problem. You know what the problem is: The problem is Black people are being mistreated by your police,” he said emphatically, as many of the participants encouraged him virtually. “It is systemic. Since the day I moved here, I’ve been treated like crap by the police. What are you going to do about racism in your police department?” Figuereo is a co-founder of the community action organization All of Us and was an organizer of the recent Black Lives Matter protests in Saratoga.
Neither Figuereo nor Hickenbottom’s comments were given their due response by the hosts. Dalton—who spoke almost exclusively during the course of the event—repeatedly stated that the purpose of the forum was for her to listen, not comment and invited Black community members to engage with her personally in her office at a later time.
Figuereo retorted by bringing up how his past attempts at conveying the racist experiences that he and other Black residents have faced, had fallen on the deaf ears of both Dalton and Police Chief Crooks, who acted as though they did not know him during the call.
As the forum proceeded, many non-Black participants standing in solidarity with their fellow Black members began to yield their time to them. These requests were repeatedly ignored by Dalton. At one point, when challenged on why she had been deliberately avoiding questions from Black residents, she retorted by saying that she could not “see the color” of any of the participants.
She did, however, mute Figuereo as he was in the midst of expressing himself—which he instantly relayed to participants in the chat.
Skidmore College students were also in prominent attendance. Rising senior Adia Cullors voiced that many Black Skidmore students feel that the city’s police are “openly hostile to us.” She mentioned instances of being singled out and told to leave downtown areas for no reason.
“I’ve been targeted, I’ve been intimidated, I’ve been harassed,” Cullors said. “When I first came to Saratoga, one of the first things I was warned about was your department.”
Cullors pointedly asked Dalton whether she thought the Police Department had a problem with “systemic racism,” or whether the problem lay with a few individual officers. Dalton did not answer.
Following the forum, I sat down (albeit virtually) with both Hickenbottom and Figuereo, to take stock of where they were mentally and emotionally following the distressing session.
Hickenbottom commented, “I think that it was a waste of time. I believe that the commissioner just wants to show the community that she is trying to help the community. It is just a political move. None of them had any real answers or suggestions.”
She continued, “I didn't notice any sense of concern or compassion on any of their faces. Nothing that was said by any one of us seemed to even shock them.”
Figuereo added, “Every question that was asked, [Dalton] knew the answer to, seeing how she has attended a couple of protests [in town]. She heard what the people were chanting and what the people need, so why not do what the community that is being affected needs?”
Both expressed little optimism in any significant policy change following this dialogue. Figuereo’s biggest concern moving forward is that the police in Saratoga Springs will continue to mistreat, abuse and intimidate people of color.
Hickenbottom noted wryly, “Things will continue as they have in the past; business as usual.”
She was blunt about her fears. “As a parent,” she said, “it makes life really scary. It's one thing when things happen to you, but it is another when it happens to your kids. My children are not just trying to make a change for themselves; they are trying to make a better future for their children and the next generation to come.”
In speaking about his activism, Figuereo ended by saying, “I personally will not stop putting pressure on [the SSPD and Department of Public Safety] for the changes that need to be made. Until they do so, all the people standing by me—both people of color and white people—will be right here seeking justice.”
Commissioner Dalton, a Republican, was elected into her position just last year, defeating Democrat Kendall Hicks. Both Police Chief Crooks and Assistant Police Chief Catone also took office last year, taking over from former Chief Veitch who presided over the case surrounding the death of Darryl Mount Jr. They can be reached through the following:
Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton: robin.dalton@saratoga-springs.org
Police Chief Shane Crooks: scrooks@saratogapolice.org
Assistant Police Chief John Catone: jcatone@saratogapolice.org
An earlier op-ed published on The Skidmore News, detailing the death of Darryl Mount Jr.: http://skidmorenews.com/new-blog/2020/6/13/whydiddarryldie-the-police-brutality-case-that-strikes-close-to-home-op-ed
Link to sign All of Us’ petition of 13 Demands Against Police Brutality, State-Sanctioned Violence, and Abuse of Power: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-9-J4eUbweUdi2lwfT6E3oMmZyELidjj7II8UNO_epPjAZg/viewform
All Of Us Community Action Group