BUFFALO, N.Y. — Erie County District Attorney John Flynn says a fight between North Buffalo neighbors, which included State Supreme Court Judge Mark Grisanti, was childish not criminal.
“This was, quite frankly, nothing more than four 50-years-olds and 60-year-olds acting like children,” said Flynn in a sit-down interview with 2 On Your Side.
The June fracas began as a dispute over parking. When it became heated and violent is when police were called in. And several cameras were rolling.
(You can see the entire police encounter with the Grisanti's and their neighbors here.)
Flynn explains a home surveillance camera captured the beginning of the fight and answered key questions about the altercation between Mark Grisanti and his wife and another married couple the Meles, who live across the street.
“(Mr. Mele) clearly, verbally initiated the confrontation. That’s clear from the video,” Flynn said.
There were some injuries, but because he determined blame for the fight could be spread all around, Flynn decided not to pursue criminal charges.
There is also Buffalo Police Department body-cam footage. In it, the video shows an officer attempting to talk with the Meles. Mrs. Grisanti can be heard loudly yelling from across the street. The officer warns her to stop yelling. When she doesn’t, the officer approached, forces her to the ground and begins handcuffing her.
That’s when Mark Grisanti can be seen pushing the officer in the midst of handcuffing his wife. Other cops jump in to separate the judge and the judge is clearly heard saying, “You’d better get off my f______ wife. Listen my daughter and my son are both Buffalo Police officers. Hey! You arrest my f______ wife, you’re going to be sorry.”
When asked if that sounded like a threat against an officer, Flynn said, “I can’t read into what the judge meant by that or what his mindset was.”
Also in the police body-cam video Mark Grisanti can be heard identifying himself as a cousin of Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramalia and mentions he is a friend of Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown. Flynn says all of those comments by the judge were improper, but not criminal. Also, the officer who was pushed declined to press charges.
“The optic is there is that a big-shot got off. Okay? There’s no doubt about that,” but Flynn says he has no reason to believe Grisanti was using his position as a judge to get special treatment. The District Attorney noted that at no time on the video can Mark Grisanti be heard identifying himself as a judge.
So, while there are no legal consequences for Judge Grisanti, other punishment is possible. Flynn says the investigation file was requested by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct. That agency has the power to sanction judges, including removing them from the bench.