Items tagged with 'Steven Krokoff'

APD chief Krokoff to councilmen and others: Shame!

krokoff albany common council 2012-01-05Albany Community Television has posted the video of last night's Common Council caucus in which police chief Steven Krokoff recounted how the department viewed the events involved with the removal of Occupy Albany from Academy Park -- for example, he explained that department didn't want to all the tent to parade around the streets again, stopping traffic.

And then he went off on a few members of the council. Here's a transcription of part of his statement:

Shame on a very small group of people in the Occupy Albany movement who chose not to take their frustrations to the court, and translate those frustrations into legal action.
Shame on a small group of people who defied common decency and demonstrated a lack of respect for their fellow human beings.
Shame on a group of people who chose to convolute their own organizational message by conducting themselves without dignity and without concern for their fellow citizens.
Shame on councilman [Dominick] Calsolaro, a leader in this city, who lacked the internal discipline to keep from getting caught up in the emotion and frenzy of those moments. When your department needed your leadership, you were not there.
Shame on councilman [Anton] Konev and councilman [Lester] Freeman, who at every turn seemed to be so willing to distort the truth of any situation, no matter how tragic, and use it for their own personal gain. Shame on them for being too weak to stand for the truth. Shame on you both for mattering so little to yourself and your community that you have to create hate and further half-truths just to feel some sense of relevancy. This entire city has seen the content of your character and I pity you both.

It's remarkable to see a public official call out other officials like that during a public meeting. Later in the meeting Konev called Krokoff's remarks "distasteful" and accused him of using "selective hearing." Calsolaro said he had been asked by constituents to be at the park, and he felt like he was doing his job. Calsolaro also said he had been asking people in the crowd to stay away from the police horse. (It was the mounted officer who ended up using pepper spray during the struggle over the tent.)

The whole video includes responses from the council members, and discussion with Krokoff about the events that night. Krokoff's opening statement starts at the 6:30 mark.

(And be sure to read JCE's tweets from the meeting.)

Earlier on AOA: The eviction of Occupy Albany

screengrab: Albany Community Television

The Scoop

For a decade All Over Albany was a place for interested and interesting people in New York's Capital Region. It was kind of like having a smart, savvy friend who could help you find out what's up. AOA stopped publishing at the end of 2018.

Recently on All Over Albany

Thank you!

When we started AOA a decade ago we had no idea what was going to happen. And it turned out better than we could have... (more)

Let's stay in touch

This all feels like the last day of camp or something. And we're going to miss you all so much. But we'd like to stay... (more)

A few things I think about this place

Working on AOA over the past decade has been a life-changing experience for me and it's shaped the way I think about so many things.... (more)

Albany tightened its rules for shoveling snowy sidewalks last winter -- so how'd that work out?

If winter ever gets its act together and drops more snow on us, there will be sidewalks to shovel. And shortly after that, Albany will... (more)

Tea with Jack McEneny

Last week we were fortunate enough to spend a few minutes with Jack McEneny -- former state Assemblyman, unofficial Albany historian, and genuinely nice guy.... (more)

Recent Comments

My three year old son absolutely loving riding the train around Huck Finn's (Hoffman's) Playland this summer.

Thank you!

...has 27 comments, most recently from Ashley

Let's stay in touch

...has 4 comments, most recently from mg

A look inside 2 Judson Street

...has 3 comments, most recently from Diane (Agans) Boyle

Everything changes: Alicia Lea

...has 2 comments, most recently from Chaz Boyark

A few things I think about this place

...has 13 comments, most recently from Katherine