City Police Issue Statements on July 30 Protest, Announce Formation of Community Outreach Group

SARATOGA SPRINGS – On Aug. 4, Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton announced she was coordinating a community outreach team and invited members of the public to join the group. 

“I put together a group that’s going to be a community outreach team,” Dalton announced during this week’s City Council meeting. “I have been meeting with black residents in our community for the last month-and-a-half to hear their concerns, to talk about their experiences and to see how I can take their voices, concerns and frustrations and how we can work together as a group to create the community we all want to live in and feel safe in. 

“I invite anyone from the public who wants to be part of the solution to be on this team with us,” Dalton said. Those interested in joining the community outreach team may express that interest by email at: outreach@saratoga-springs.org. 

The Saratoga Springs Police Department issued two statements – the first on July 30 and the second Aug. 4 – regarding a “Back the Blue” rally and a counter-protest by the groups  “BLM” and “All of US,” that occurred July 30, and which converged inside Congress Park. 

The first statement provided a timeline outline and the events leading up to three arrests being made.   

According to police, the “Back the Blue” rally ended at 7:45 p.m. and those participants left the area.  “The group representing “BLM” and “All of US” made the decision to continue their protest by laying down in the intersection of Broadway and Congress Street for a period of time. The group then moved north on Broadway by walking in the roadway, disrupting traffic and closing down streets. These
actions continued up and down Broadway for about 45 minutes and at approximately 8:30 p.m., Lt. Jason Mitchell of the Saratoga Springs Police Department approached leaders of the group and asked them to leave the roadway. The group leaders were advised they could continue their protest on the sidewalks but not in the roadway,” the statement continues. “The leaders of the group and the protestors refused to leave the roadway after numerous warnings, so officers moved in and (three) arrests were made.”

The second statement provided a more in-depth timeline, addressed the reason law enforcement agencies outside the city were requested as well as law enforcement’s deployment of “pepper projectiles” on Broadway during the protest. 

The statement reads, in part: “The police department began seeing social media posts from people representing the groups “BLM” and “All of US” to show up and counter-protest the “Back to Blue” rally. One of the social media posts asked counter-protestors to be in Congress Park by 5:30 p.m. and stated, ‘it’s time to really show them we mean business.’ It was at this time that the decision was made to add assistance from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department, New York State Police and New York State Park Police. “

Assistance by the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department assistance included an “MRAP” vehicle – described as a light tactical vehicle used as a personnel and equipment carrier for the tactical team, which was utilized during the evening. The statement continues: 

“Intelligence collected by outside agencies at various times of the day on July 30 reported the possibility that one of the protestors associated with “BLM” and “All of US” was armed with a handgun and agitators from outside the area were going to be involved. Observations by officers and backed up by video, show some protestors wearing bulletproof vests and duty belts containing pepper spray. 

Seven different video clips were posted on the city’s website Aug. 4 showing various moments of the protest, including one which shows police and protesters coming together and the subsequent deployment of pepper projectiles: “The Chief of Police authorized the use of the pepper projectiles once the situation started turning violent,” police said. No injuries were reported during the events.