Diallo supporters ID’d as cop spitters

By Jon Dougherty

An Albany Police detective says participants at the New York state
Democratic Party convention — held May 16 at Albany’s Pepsi Arena —
who allegedly cursed at and spat on an Albany P.D. honor guard were some
of the same individuals bussed to Albany to attend the politically
charged Amadou Diallo trial.

Talk host Bob Just

“I was told [by some honor guard members] that they recognized some
of the group from the Diallo trial,” Albany Det. Thomas McGraw, who was
interviewed about the incident by talk show host

Bob Just,
said.

Just — a life-long Democrat — says this helps explain why there has been so little action from his party to find the “spitters.”

“We have to face up to the minority politics of this,” he said. “It’s a tense election year, my party needs the 1.2 million African American voters in New York state, and they won’t let anything get in their way — apparently not even spitting on the American flag.”

The

May 16 incident
occurred as five officers, in full dress uniform and carrying an American flag, proceeded into the arena. Honor guard members later told authorities that some people in the crowd of 11,500 Democratic supporters spat on them and called them “Nazis,” as well as “members of (New York City Mayor Rudolph) Giuliani’s ‘Third Reich.'”

Since then, Just, who was born and raised in New York, has vowed to do everything he could to discover who committed the offenses and expose them. He has been working on his personal investigation ever since.

“I still can’t believe people spit on the American flag at a formal party convention and no one did anything,” said Just. “But I admit it’s probably going to take a whistleblower to break this open, someone who saw the spitting or who actually knows the spitters — just one honest witness.”

According to the original Albany Times Union story, the spitting incident took place on the delegate floor of the convention where “only delegates carrying passes were allowed access.”

Shortly after the incident, Just appeared on Fox News’

Hannity and
Colmes
show to discuss it with hosts Sean Hannity and Alan Colmes. Appearing with him was Chris Lapetina, a Democratic consultant from New York who denied that the “spitters” were actual delegates to the convention.

Lapetina said he had “done some checking” after the incident was reported and “found out [the alleged perpetrators] were not delegates” to the convention. He added that his best information so far was that the individuals who allegedly spat on and cursed the honor guard “were bussed in” to the convention to enhance the size of the crowd, and “were not officially invited” to attend.

The Secret Service agent in charge of security for the convention hall, however, told Just he would “be inclined to dispute that” because “I was assured only VIP and delegates would be seated on the main floor,” where the incident took place.

“The general public invited to the convention were above the [delegate] floor,” said Agent Hall Schultz, who along with other law enforcement secured the Pepsi Arena the night of the incident. Hall said that the agreement was that “only delegates and county chairs” would be permitted to sit on the floor. “No one ever mentioned to me about crowd filler.”

Just said that Schulz’s response made sense, considering who was in attendance that night.

“It’s not logical that the convention organizers would invite — or allow in — ‘unofficial attendees’ with the president and first lady in there — and then do it in some disorganized fashion without security knowing,” said Just.

“If they bussed 50 people in from God knows where, they will know where they put them,” another Secret Service agent told Just. “Some driver knows exactly where these people came from.”

Just said the second agent, who asked that his identity not be disclosed, also thought that if buses were used, “someone” would know what district they came from; and if mini-vans were used, they would know the volunteers who drove them.

However, Just said he was so far unable to find any Secret Service agents who witnessed the alleged spitting. Schultz told Just he didn’t hear anything about the incident until the next day.

Albany Police Chief John C. Nielsen, who had previously announced an investigation of the incident, told the New York Times that investigators had checked for any videotape of the alleged spitting and harassment. However, officials found none, Nielsen said, so his department had “no plans to take this further.”

On the other hand, McGraw, who is the union chief for the

Albany
Police Department,
said there is a difference between the union’s investigation and that of the department itself. “The union investigation is ongoing,” he said.

Ironically, days after Neilsen told the Times there were no plans to take the investigation further, Lapetina said the Democratic Party was “vigorously pursuing” the spitters.

Just is skeptical. “I can’t even get my calls returned by Democrat politicians who should be outraged that such a thing happened. The irony is that we will see a lot of flag waving at the national convention, but now it’s time to defend the flag — and all we get is talk. When other outrageous things happen, we get press conferences, dignitaries, all on camera for the evening news. But when the American flag gets spat on at Mrs. Clinton’s nominating convention, all we get are press releases and letters of apology.”

Immediately after learning of the incident, Just, a talk host on

Talk Radio Network,
teamed with other radio hosts and the

Law Enforcement Alliance of America
to raise money for a reward for information leading to the identification of those who allegedly spat on honor guard members.

Legal analysts say spitting on another person constitutes second-degree harassment, for which offenders could be arrested and jailed.

Hannity — who helped Just launch the reward campaign on his WABC radio program in New York City — says he agrees that the entire incident is being downplayed by Democratic Party officials and the senatorial campaign of Hillary Clinton.

“I’m not the first Republican to call for action, that’s for sure, but Democrats will always claim that we’re being partisan,” said Hannity. “As a Democrat, Bob wants his party to do the right thing — it’s a fair thing to ask.”

Just said his “greatest concern” was that Democrats “are putting party power and blind party loyalty over what’s good and right for the American people. And that ‘party first’ mentality is a dangerous political tendency.”

After all, said Just, it was John F. Kennedy who once said, “Sometimes party loyalty asks too much.”

“I’m wondering if that’s true for Mrs. Clinton and the rest of the inner circle New York Democrats,” he added.

Read Bob Just’s commentary:

Fascism, corruption, and my
‘Democratic’ Party

Previous stories:


Talk radio hosts spitting mad


Can Democrats ID cop spitters?

Jon Dougherty

Jon E. Dougherty is a Missouri-based political science major, author, writer and columnist. Follow him on Twitter. Read more of Jon Dougherty's articles here.