SARATOGA SPRINGS — The state attorney general’s office has issued two more subpoenas and has expanded the scope of its civil rights investigation into the city police’s treatment of Black Lives Matter activists.
That means, Mayor Ron Kim said, that recent actions taken by Public Safety Commissioner James Montagnino, who issued summonses against BLM leaders Lexis Figuereo and Chandler Hickenbottom, will also be under scrutiny.
“He will be expected to provide all the information on the three arrests of Chandler, Lex(is) and Bridgette (Barr),” Kim said. “I think he will argue that he legally summoned them to court and that he didn’t arrest them. But I think that is a distinction without a difference.”
The subpoenas are seeking documents including arrest records, full name and shield number of arresting officers, length of pre-arraignment detention, criminal charges and dispositions of such charges. The attorney general’s office is also seeking information that “was not previously produced” regarding the police’s 2021 New York Racing Association season plan that coincided with a BLM protest that ended with five BLM activists being chased down Broadway, tackled and arrested.
Prior subpoenas ordered interviews with former Mayor Meg Kelly and her deputy Lisa Shields and the former Public Safety Commissioner Robin Dalton and her deputy, Eileen Finneran.
Mitchell was not immediately available for comment. However, Montagnino said that he and Mitchell will honor the attorney general’s request.
“I think they are looking to depose Lt. Mitchell to make sure that no stone gets unturned,” Montagnino said. “I am more than happy to give them whatever they want.”
This comes as good news to Figuereo, whose initial alignment with Montagnino fell apart when, in his first year in office, Montagnino…
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