Saturday, January 25, 2014

Melee at Kokopellis; video disappears (UPDATED with VIDEO)



The explosive video from the melee inside Kokopellis bar in downtown Troy showing a cop using a Billy club on an unarmed man has disappeared.
I watched it on Facebook at about 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, and while it was shared by a number of people - nearly 300 if I remember including Council President Rodney Wiltshire - I can’t find it anymore anywhere on Facebook.

You can, however, now see the video on YouTube: 
The 44-second video does only show what I hear is a fraction of what actually transpired at the bar known for problems. The most damaging segment, if you’re a Troy cop, shows an officer beating an already beat up black man with a night stick. Two other officers join in and appear to kneel on him to hold him down while a woman is screaming “stop it, stop it.” Other officers are either watching the thrashing or standing guard apparently making sure nobody interferes.

From Facebook
It’s a brutal scene, and I’m not sure how the police can justify it, regardless of what happened before or after. At the time of the beating, it does actually appear the police have the situation under control too.

There is also a photo of a man on Facebook who claims his cousin was beaten up by cops but it doesn’t appear to be the one in the video. It’s posted by a guy going by the name of Quanlo Quanloo.
As I've said before, I’m glad I’m not a cop because I’m sure they get amped up just like every other person on the planet would if in a similar situation. The difference is police are trained to not give into their emotions and beat people up for what appears to be no other reason except it was, by all accounts, a pretty ugly scene.
Here is what we know so far, according to a number of media reports and people I have talked to:
-Police were called to the Fourth Street bar by the owners because a fight had gotten out of control.
-Ten Troy officers showed up and were not warmly welcomed by the unruly crowd that some say was in excess of 300.
-After the melee six Troy cops were taken to the hospital with a number of injuries consistent with having been on the bad end of a fight, bottles were thrown at them, some were pepper sprayed and one had a fire extinguisher sprayed at him. Someone tossed a garbage can through the back window of a cruiser. A number of other agencies were called into assist.
-Six patrons were arrested for crimes including disorderly conduct, harassment and resisting arrest.
-Rev. Willie Bacote (pictured above right) is already front and center on social media rallying the masses and screaming racism. If he hasn’t already, I’m guessing he will organize another march in protest of police brutality in the very near future. I know of no one who is in favor of police brutality – black or white – and somehow I don’t think police were thinking about the person’s color when they were spraying pepper spray or throwing bottles.
-There are video cameras in the bar so hopefully we will see the entire scene and not just a 44 second snippet.
-This comes on the heels of two higher profile beatings by Troy police as well as another on Christmas Day. In the first Officer Kyle Jones was cleared of using excessive force while arresting Brian Houle in June 2012 after the two got into an argument on Facebook over the definition of a hero. Houle now has a $3 million lawsuit pending. In the second, Internal Affairs confirmed Jones used excessive force while arresting Frank Fogarty in December, 2012. That one is still causing a ruckus. The third, a police officer allegedly beat a man already under arrest in the Police Department and it’s captured on video tape. Fogarty and Houle are white, by the way.
-It comes at a time when there is chaos in the TPD hierarchy with Police Commissioner Anthony Magnetto is going back into retirement and Police Chief John Tedesco is threatening a lawsuit if he doesn’t get back control of the department’s day-to-day operations.
In the end, there is no way this one goes away anytime soon.




40 comments:

  1. What a clusterf*ck. I hope the rest of the video footage clears the officers, sad. Unfortunately it gives Willie a nugget to chew on and spew his racist claims, oh wait claims of racism.

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  2. oh man, i miss this beat. always some craziness going on.

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  3. Mayor Lou had a great time at the RPI hockey game in Albany. No need to be in Troy tonight. A nice private glass enclosed suite with good food and drink safe from all the other people who had to pay for food and drinks. Must be nice.

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  4. While the mayor was at the hockey game the next mayor was dining at Verdiles in Troy. Rodney and his wife were talking with Ed Manny and planning his run to replace Lou. Their bickering in the Troy Record today is just the tip of the iceberg.

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    1. Rodney is screwing up so badly, he should just be focused on keeping his council seat and keeping his tongue brushed.

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    2. Ed Manny was 2 Manhattans away from thinking he was in Manhattan.

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  5. Looks like an upstanding, tax paying citizen right there, not

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  6. Steals from food pantries and sells the food, his prices at his "community sale' change depending on who is buying. Not to mention the stacks of DVD footage showing him working when he claimed he was injured on the job at Troy Housing. Or how about how he lied about living in a government subsidized apartment and actually residing up in North Central. How about the guy who paid for kids to go to a Valley Cats game and Willie never did anything with the tickets, nor did he refund the man the money. He LIED and said the kids went and had a good time. What an upstanding citizen Willie is...NOT!

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    Replies
    1. Yes and they where all leaving the club in an orderly fashion. You all have seen how orderly they cross the streets. Willie is the moral compass for these people. Soulless

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  7. Yep... A 2 and a 0... Definitely not underpaid in this department!

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  8. What would you have the Mayor and City Council do on a Saturday night? This is a question of how policing is done in this city. Police are supposed to be trained individuals on how to defuse situations not escalate to the point of violence. There are far too many incidents of brutality being reported and law suites against the tax payers of this small city. This speaks to something being out of control and it need to stop. Will it be necessary to contact outside Civil Rights organizations or the FBI to solve our problems?

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  9. The city of troy is a mess how do they expect to attract anything to the city we need some leadership with backbone drive these people out nd get control of you police

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  10. We need a larger police department. more officers on the streets, more detectives. It would be good to have a few undercover officers in the bars to keep an eye on things and note who the bad apples are. Lastly every infraction needs to be written up. No more cars double parked in the road next to a parking spot, no more walking out in front of a moving vehicle, no more crossing against the lights. By letting the little things slide we are allowing things to deteriorate.

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    Replies
    1. The problem is that the cops would have to get out of the car!

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    2. We need the Dept. turned back over to the Chief, God knows the Mayor doesn't know how to run the dept. and Magnetto's performance as Commissioner was lukewarm at best. I agree we do have to start practicing a zero tolerance.

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  11. The issue here is a bad bar owner. And if you want to blame Lou, remember the Hudson Duster in 2005. Was that Harry's fault? Please. There is an element whose idea of fun is getting drunk and rowdy. It is up to the owner to NOT cater to that crowd.

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    1. I don't think I ever saw Harry at the ribbon cutting of the Hudson Duster, the picture of Louless and the bar owner will be soon appearing everywhere!

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    2. Hudson Duster was shut down after an Nuisance Abatement hearing. This was back when the Administration had a set.

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  12. The bar needs to be shut down, period end of story. We don't need this element here.

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    1. Exactly. Does anyone remember how quickly Broadway Brew was shutdown after conflicts much more miner than this? Why is Kokopelli's being treated any different? Especially after an issue like this, no doubt it needs to be shut down.

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  13. Mark, we're at the cliff.

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    1. He's growing his article vortex built in sweater.

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    2. Mark we really need you back.

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  14. I'm a grown man suggesting to another grown man to see frozen. I also love rev will and will allow him to guide me. I wish he would give b dunne some moral pointers. Poor women in city hall floor.

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    1. i cant sleep thinking about him like b dunne i think of him lots too

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    2. When I'm around either one of them, my skin begins to burn

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  16. Isn't the bar another Abate enterprise? The Cox family with better clothing.

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  17. you mean it's not harry and danny and mirch ????

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  18. it was mirch dressed as a cop! bring on the ACLU!

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  19. While we fildle Rome is burning. Most of the problems we have with our police department stem from lack of leadership. Tedesco mad at the Mayor and his Commissioner. The community lied to about foot patrols and no community policing. Police who don't live in the city so no real interest just a job. This issue is not about race it's about people doing the wrong thing with no accountability. Maybe it's time to dismantle the police department and start using the Sheriff's department to patrol. In the long run it maybe more fiscally responsible to the tax payer. Who would want to invest in this mess of a city when we can't even get it right?

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    Replies
    1. From the frying pan into the fire

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    2. Got to wait for Sheriff to put K Rog in prison first, then he will tackle the Troy situation.

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  20. Hope all you cops see how fast Rodney will throw you under the bus.

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  21. Being Rod was recently reborn biracial --he feels the pain

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  22. Next time the Cops should not show up and let the animals kill themselves. I'm sure all the "race baiter" protesters will conveniently forget the Cops were attacked by these thugs.

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  23. Funny how a lot of people on this blog charge racism to Willie Bacote and Rodney, and you turn around and do the same thing. Your mirror should have shattered intro a million tiny pieces of glass by now. Stick to the issue it's bigger than Willie or Rodney and it's been going on for a long time. It's time for things to change.

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