Cozmo in Congress Park June 28, 2012

Rumor has it that the Saratoga-famous Cozmo (the Magnificent!, I'm sure) has been up to his old tricks again.

The man with the magic hands first made news last year when he made a ticket for "entertaining without a license" disappear in City Court. 

Cozmo (Neil Dupree) had been issued the ticket after some complaints came into the Police Department about him soliciting money from those he entertained (including children), something he denied. 

The more impressive magic, though, may have been how the police stirred up the charge that dated back to the early 20th century and had a special section for "moving pictures" (the talkies). It was particularly mystical since the Accounts Department doesn't issue the licenses the ordinance referred to.

The charge was dropped, as Assistant City Attorney Tony Izzo explained, because the city couldn't charge someone for doing something without a license if the city didn't issue them.

Well, Tuesday I gather he was drawing more complaints. A police sergeant said the proprietors of the craft fair in Congress Park had complained that Cozmo was performing in their fair, despite their having rented out space in the park.

Again, though, Izzo said no one can rent exclusive rights to Congress Park and "they will have to coexist."

I went down to catch up with the magic man Tuesday, but by the time I got there he had... disappeared.

At Tuesday's City Council meeting, Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen stated, matter of factly, that when Greg Veitch becomes the chief of police it will leave a hole in the upper-end of the department that will need to be filled by other officers.

So it sounds pretty official that Veitch is the new chief, which isn't a surprise. I'm told a press conference or press release will be issued Friday about the transition.

The other part of his statement is also something to pay attention to. When Veitch takes over for Police Chief Chris Cole, who is retiring, it is going to mean that two of the top three positions in the department will be left empty (Assistant Chief and Captain). There are I believe five lieutenants and a handful of sergeants, a couple of whom will likely be moving up in the department.

In the mean time, the City Council just voted to hire two new police. While the only dissenting vote was the mayor, John Franck came to the defense of the cuts that have left the department in a seeming perpetual state of short-staffing.

Mathiesen has long advocated for hiring the officers back who had been laid off in 2010. "It puts too much pressure on the remaining members of the force," he said Tuesday. 

Mathiesen said the cuts were "foolhardy" and "apparently taken lightly," for which Franck told him he was "uneducated" about the issue.

Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan, who (curiously) was the one to propose hiring two new officers, argued that the "magic number" in the department seems to be 72 officers, but Franck said before the layoffs "they were saying they needed 91 officers."

Mathiesen, then, said they may need more than 72.

"72 may bee too low, frankly, given the activity in our city," he said. If he had his druthers, he said, he would hire a consultant to evaluate how many officers the department actually needs.

Many seemed in favor of that, but as Mathiesen has told me in the past, it may cost a good deal of money which could be applied to more important public safety needs.

Maybe with two new officers coming in, though, now will be the time.

UPDATE: At about the same time that Lucian hit publish on this blog post, WNYT ran an exclusive report confirming Cole's retirement. We've since confirmed that news, too, although Cole has not returned numerous phone calls. Here's our story on his retirement and his turbulent 3-1/2-year tenure as police chief: http://www.saratogian.com/articles/2013/04/24/news/doc517850bbc4590888048702.txt
-- Emily

This is a rumor, but one that I have heard from a number of people (people who would know if it were true).

Chief Cole may be retiring from his role at the head of the Saratoga Spring Police Department.

I'm not sure of the reasons.

I have put calls in to: Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen, Deputy Commissioner Eileen Finneran, Cole's office and cell phones but they didn't answer and I haven't heard back.

I did speak to Assistant Chief Greg Veitch, who I hear is the likely successor, but he said he had no comment about the rumors.

He said, however, that he is no longer considering a run for Saratoga County Sheriff, a change from earlier this month when he told me he was.

Police Benevolent Association President Paul Veitch said he too had heard rumors, but would not comment on them.

Civil Service Commission Secretary Patsy Barrigan said her office has not received any letters of resignation or retirement from Cole.

She said a Civil Service list is being compiled from a test in March but won't be done until June. In the meantime, the names of the five people who took it are not public.

Last time around (in June 2011, about a year and a half after Cole's promotion to chief), there were only two people who took the test: Greg Veitch and now-retired Captain Michael Chowske.

Barrigan said Chowske still has time to come out of retirement, though, if he wanted to be considered for the job (but added, "who would want to come out of retirement?")

Like I said, I don't know the reasons, but it has certainly been a tough run for Cole as chief.

He started the job behind the 8-Ball, coming in after seven officers were laid off amid budget concerns and things didn't get better.

He was the focus of a sexting scandal that at a time when Rep. Anthony Weiner's political career was crashing and burning for the same reason. 

Last year the department was roundly criticized for its handling of information following a reported rape on a city street.

More recently there have been a series of high-profile crimes (alleged machete assault, alleged hammer assault, alleged beating of a woman with a BB gun on Granger Avenue, sexual assault and robbery of a woman outside her home on Union Street).

Major crimes, including violent crimes, are up for the third year running (See 2010 Public Safety Annual Report, 2011 Annual report and the recent 2012 Public Safety Annual Report).

Recently Assistant Chief Veitch gave a presentation at a Planning Board meeting to address some of the concerns of the public over safety in the Spa City. 


Anyway, I'll of course be following up on this tomorrow (barring hearing from any of the people I have already called tonight), so stay tuned. 

Public Safety Commissioner Christian Mathiesen doesn't like this blog

In particular, he didn't like this post from last month and he told the City Council (and anyone else watching last night's meeting) during their meeting that he was "surprised and disappointed" by it.

The post was about Mathiesen's campaign against the late-night chaos of Caroline Street, which he argues can be mitigated by rolling back last call to 3 a.m. from 4 a.m.

It was a failed effort and I said so. I don't think that's up for dispute. It barely made it out of the City Council and It didn't make it out of the committee at the county level (where any change to last call would ultimately have to be decided).

As I pointed out in the blog post, I thought Mathiesen's campaign to change last call was over until the March 19 City Council meeting when he brought it up again under an agenda item labeled: "Lawlessness after 4 a.m." 

He called me last week upset about the post. He accused me of being in the pockets of Caroline Street businesses ("I know The Saratogian gets a lot of advertising from Caroline Street") and of constantly criticizing his efforts.

First off, he is just plain wrong about that. I haven't received any direction from the publisher or advertising department. 

He also asked (not rhetorically, he waited for an answer) if I actually believed his efforts were hurting tourism in the city.

I responded that those weren't my words, that criticism came from the top three leaders of the city's tourism industry. My opinion doesn't matter.

Last night I made it to the big leagues. In an agenda item, "Late night arrests," seemingly solely dedicated to refuting my blog post, he let his criticism be known publicly. Pointing to my post (and me by name, though I had already left and was watching the webcast while filing my articles from the office) he said it was "sarcastic" and undermining his efforts.

I didn't find the post (which by now you should realize I've been linking to as frequently as possible) sarcastic and I'm certainly not ignoring his arguments. 

As I pointed out last week, my post summarized all of his efforts and quoted him extensively throughout. I'm just writing down what he's done and said.

Report of a black Ford Bronco running a stop sign on Vichy Drive every morning. Stop it.

It looks like the mischief-makers were out Monday night as there was a report of someone having his car shot with a paintball and another one of someone’s car and house egged.

 Someone called to report that a woman's “stolen vehicle” is actually in a man's driveway. The call out on it was cancelled. Seems like a misunderstanding.

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Wednesday's blotter:

47 Walnut Street: Welfare check on a cat. Who knew you could ask the police to do that? (Cat is fine, by the way).

Caller reports crane fell over. Officer advises “no problem.” I think that depends on who you ask, officer.

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So obviously I haven't posted these in a while (my bad), so instead of going through every detail of the last two weeks blotters, I'm going to be much more selective with what I single out here in the blog.

Obviously anything that was newsworthy went into the newspaper. So this is all just what didn't raise to that level, but stuff that is interesting to see that the police deal with on a daily basis.

And here we go...


Jan. 26: Nothing to see here (at least in the blotter). Someone refused to pay their cab fare, until they did. Couple accidents. An electrical fire that was put down quickly.

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Jan. 27: I was off that day. This blotter covered my birthday the day before and apparently a lot of people were celebrating by causing mayhem. 

One guy had two DIFFERENT stolen plates on his vehicle and a third inside. So that’s interesting.

About an hour later a male was arrested for being “possibly intoxicated” and stripping. He later smashed his head into a car window. He was taken to the ER. 

A little after midnight a woman “came inside (a) bar with (a) bloody face -  Unknown what happened.”

A person called police for their intoxicated son who was “in a snow bank, trying to walk home.”

Someone hit a lamp post, knocking it over and exposing wires on Union Avenue. They drove off before police got there. 

Also there were a lot of reports of people refusing to leave places while intoxicated and at least two instances of refusing to pay cab fares.

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Jan. 28: 2:14 p.m.: Welfare check for female who hasn’t been heard since last night.

2:48 p.m.: Officer advises subject was sleeping. No problem.

No place for late sleepers.

That is all.

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Jan. 29: Bank robbery.

Call from someone who advised that her ex-roommate took her car 3 MONTHS AGO for repairs and has not yet returned it.

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Jan. 30

Caller advises male in a blue jacket with a brown “knapsack” (whatever that is) standing in the middle of the street waving down cars. Officers advise he is trying to hail a cab.

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Jan. 31

Man too drunk to ride his bike. He eventually fell on his head and needed to an ambulance. Wonder if he had insurance…

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Feb. 1 A lot of weather-related calls. Wires down, trees down, etc.

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Feb. 2

Welfare check on male subject talking to himself. Subject sent on his way.

A fax machine kept calling 911. Paper Jam!

Domestics and a couple minor MVAs as well.

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Feb. 3

Random Saturday night problems: Man on some type of narcotic; “unwanted intoxicated male” (is there any other kind?); subject refusing to pay fare for taxi; the usual.

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Feb. 4

Not much going on: Hitch-hiker, minor MVAs, overdose.

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Feb. 5

Reports of homeless living in a tent in the woods. Contacted park police. Unattended death of a 57-year-old woman on South Federal (could be Stonequist). Nothing suspicious.

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Feb. 6

A few things that made the paper: Counterfeit $10 bill, paint-balled houses.

Also a report of an “accidental” 911 call, but on further investigation the dispatcher found there was a history of domestic disputes at the house and sent a police car anyway. They found an “unwanted guest” who was moved along. Kudos to the dispatchers; it’s good to see they are on their toes. They could have prevented something much worse.  

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Feb. 7:

Caller reports prescription drugs stolen;

There was also a call of a car into a pole. The driver and his female passenger allegedly fled the scene. Police found the man at Trotters after pinging his phone. She was intoxicated, police say he was not. Saratoga Springs Police Lt. John Catone said he was only issued traffic tickets, including leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

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Feb. 8

Male intoxicated sitting in the middle of the sidewalk on Railroad Place. Transported to ER. A few domestics and fights as well.

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Feb. 9

Nothing to see here.

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Feb. 10

Also nothing to see here.

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Feb. 11

Kids on a rooftop on Congress Street throwing snowballs at people. Damn kids. Police got there and turned them over to their parents.

A woman reports getting pushed out of a vehicle on the side of the road. She doesn’t know who they were because she just met them tonight. Moral of the story: Don’t ride in cars with strangers.

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Whew... and we're through them. I'll try to keep up on posting them more regularly.

Not much going on but a counterfeit $10 bill reported on Nelson Avenue Thursday afternoon, which to me sounds like a lot of work/risk for $10, but I guess that's why I don't counterfeit bills.

Blotter for Jan. 25, 2013 by

Police received a call at 9:30 a.m. about a student last seen at 2 a.m. half-dressed and intoxicated. The subject was eventually located and was in the ER, though it is unclear whether he/she was located in the ER.

There was also a report of burglary at a chapel on Greenridge Place. I’ll be trying to get more info about that.

Someone lost their finger last night, though I don’t think it was in Saratoga Springs.

A woman reported receiving “disturbing pictures” on her phone from a man who was then transported to the mental health unit. Those had to have been scary.

Blotter for Jan. 24, 2013 by

Not much going on yesterday. A couple of property-damage accidents (PDA) and some reports of harassment and larcenies.

Police Blotter Jan. 23, 2013 by

Not much in the blotter today and there were no arrests.

I'm not sure what to make of this one: A female called 911 at about 8:27 a.m. and told police she was having a language barrier and some kind of psychiatric issue with another party. Then a male party got on the phone, “not cooperating” and said she was pregnant and wanted to go to work. An officer was dispatched and only reported there was no problem.

 There were also some reports of a few belligerent intoxicated individuals, nothing out of the ordinary, and some minor motor vehicle accidents.

Police Blotter for Jan. 22, 2013 by

Here is the blotter from Friday, Jan. 18:

Thursday:
9:42 a.m. A woman on Hamilton Street reported that someone threw a beer bottle at her window and broke it. I don’t know if it was a house or a car. Either way, no fun.

10:39 a.m. – Prisoner injured at the jail, bad enough that he/she needed to be transported to the ER. I’m putting some calls in on this and will update when I have more.
* Update: That was, in fact, John Flacke, who as some may remember was arrested three times last week. According to police, he complained of injury and was evaluated, but nothing was wrong, he was just trying to get out of going to jail.*

11:07 a.m. – Reports of possible mail/credit card fraud.

At 7:19 p.m. there was a  request of a welfare check on someone’s 6-month-old son. I assume that is a typo or something, since who leaves a 6 month old alone? Anyway, no contact and the scene was clear, also adding to the idea that it is not as it seems. 

Friday:
2:01 a.m. on High Rock Avenue there was some sort of disturbance, possible break-in and someone’s 17 and 20 year old sons ran outside chasing someone. The police ended up searching the construction area at the Courtyard Marriott. They didn’t find the guy, though, and a report was initiated.

Blotter for Jan. 18, 2013 by lmccarty2656

The blotter from Saturday, Jan. 19:

Someone had their purse stolen at the library Friday morning. Lame.

There were also a lot of dog complaints Friday. A beagle puppy was found milling about on Lake Ave. The owner was found in that case, but later a Boxer was found running around on Adams Street but it was brought to the shelter.

A little while later, in a cliché brought to life, a mail carrier was chased by two Rottweiler’s . Those dogs were secured by the owner.

Blotter for Jan. 19, 2013 by lmccarty2656

Saturday night saw an interesting non-dog-related call (sort of) that began when a woman went next door to her neighbor and asked him to call 911.

Evidently, the man she had been on a date with earlier that night thought the two were connecting when she did not. After the date, Nathan J. Thomas, 35, of Harwich Lane in West Hartford, Conn. kicked in her door on Caroline Street and then passed out on her couch, according to the police blotter.

He was charged with a couple of misdemeanors and was sentenced to a dateless future, if Google has anything to do with it.

Jan. 20, 2013 Blotter by lmccarty2656

 Here is Monday's blotter from Sunday. 

The morning started with someone reporting their car was struck overnight on Wagon Wheel Terrace, but it is less than $1,000 in damage and they didn't want a report.

 In the afternoon there were some reports of wires, signs down, what with the weather.

 There were a couple of domestic incidents reported, one of which will be in the blotter tomorrow.

 At 7:41 p.m. there was a report of a man who didn’t want to pay his bill and also didn’t want to leave the City Tavern. He eventually left, but didn’t pay, and it took police intervention to work out.

  At nearly 5 in the morning there was a report of a car sitting sideways in the road on Lincoln Avenue with someone unconscious behind the wheel. It appears that he struck a tree, though was not intoxicated. He was transported to the ER for treatment.  

Police Blotter for Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 by

Not much going on in the police blotter other than what was reported in the Police Blotter. 

A woman reported at about 2 Wednesday afternoon that her dog had been bitten by a skunk. This resulted in a lot of questions in our news room as to when skunks bite: before or after spraying? No answers in the blotter, though. They referred her to a vet. 

Drive thru visitors at the McDonalds on South Broadway got more than fries with their orders Wednesday night. According to the blotter, McDonalds has been having an “ongoing problem” with two individuals in a red SUV who harass the drive-thru window throwing snowballs. I don’t know if it was at the window or at the customers. Either way, the police will have a no-trespass order on them in the near future.

Blotter for Jan. 17, 2013 by

I sent a FOIL yesterday to the city, requesting the Letter of Intent (Which I guess is also referred to as a Notice of Claim) sent from Lee Kindlon to the city, putting them on notice that he and his client, Jeffrey Bennett, are pursuing a civil case against it.

For those who haven't read the stories, three officers were suspended after a fight at Dango Fitzgerald's Irish Pub on Caroline Street.  The off-duty officers were later identified as John Guzek, Mark Leffler and Ed Braim, the later allegedly being the instigator in the altercation and the one who was eventually charged with third-degree assault. Braim was forced to resign  and the charge was ACOD'd, but that doesn't appear to have been the end of his troubles.

Last week, the city was put on notice that it may be the target of an upcoming lawsuit, also targeting Braim and possibly the other two off-duty officers.

It came in today, so I figured I'd put it up, as well as the press release issued by Kindlon yesterday morning.

Notice of Claim for Ed Braim lawsuit by

As I said in the story in today's paper, Kindlon and Bennett paint a different picture than the police did of that altercation. 

Police Chief Chris Cole said after the investigation that the police don't believe a single punch was thrown, whereas this letter states that the THREE officers "physically forced him against a parked vehicle" and then Braim "physically assaulted" Bennett while "Officers Mark Leffler and John Guzek stood by and watched...."

Here is the press release put out by Kindlon yesterday morning, as well:

 Victim of Former Saratoga Springs Police Officer Ed Braim to file suit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lee Kindlon, the attorney for Jeffrey Bennett, is moving forward with plans to file a civil suit against the City of Saratoga Springs and a now-former member of its Police Department.  Jeffrey Bennett was the victim of former Saratoga Springs Police Officer Edward Braim, who, as a result of this assault, was forced to resign from his position as a police officer.   

Last week, Kindlon filed notice on behalf of his client signaling that he intends to seek damages against Mr. Braim and the City of Saratoga for an assault that occurred November 12, 2012.  Ed Braim and two other Saratoga Springs police officers viciously attacked and beat Mr. Bennett outside Dango Fitzgerald’s Pub on November 12, 2012.  Criminal charges were later filed against Braim, who was represented by Andrew Safranko. 

According to witnesses and court documents, while two other off-duty police officers stood by, Braim, who had not known the victim prior to that night, slammed Mr. Bennett into the side of a vehicle parked outside the bar causing injuries that included difficulty breathing, redness, swelling and contusions to his torso, neck and wrist.  The fight began between Braim and another man; Bennett had intervened to defuse the situation.   Braim, instead, focused his anger upon the peace-maker.

             This is not Mr. Braim’s first allegation of assault.  Back in 2009, Skidmore student John Capitani was accused of assaulting Mr. Braim, only to have the charges dropped on the day of trial.  Six different witnesses came forward to state that then-Officer Braim had, in fact, assaulted the student.  Because of this proof, those charges were dropped.  Questions remained, however, about what, if anything, the City of Saratoga did following these disclosures to rein-in Officer Braim. 

             “Ed Braim had been a problem in Saratoga Springs for a while.  The City of Saratoga has known this for years.  We are asking for accountability, not just from Ed Braim but from the City of Saratoga,” said Lee Kindlon of Kindlon Shanks & Associates.

 ***