BUFFALO, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side brought you a story Tuesday about Judge Mark Grisanti being caught on police body camera video shoving a Buffalo Police officer during a dispute with neighbors over the summer.
Grisanti was not arrested and was not charged. This is still the most popular story on our website more than 24-hours after it was posted. It shows Judge Grisanti shoving a Buffalo Police officer who was trying to detain his wife.
In the video, you also hear Grisanti repeatedly tell the officer his son and daughter are police officers.
For legal analysis, 2 On Your Side's Kelly Dudzik talked with Rochester-based criminal defense attorney Donald Thompson. He's representing Daniel Prude's estate. Prude is the Black man who died in March a few days after Rochester Police officers held him down until he stopped breathing. Thompson does not know Grisanti at all, and he thinks Grisanti's race and position absolutely influenced what happened here.
"He's got the complexion of protection, right? And, he's a judge, and they know he's a judge and, you know, the report was that he wasn't charged because the officer didn't want to press charges," Thompson said. "That's virtually never the determining factor as to whether somebody gets charged. I'll tell you right now, if it was one of my Black clients, he would have been charged with resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, and if the officer was injured at all in any way in the course of the altercation, with assault in the second degree."
And, second degree assault is a felony, so if you're found guilty of that or plead guilty to that, you'd lose your job as a judge Thompson says. He adds that you'd probably not be a practicing attorney anymore either.
Thompson first saw the video when 2 On Your Side sent him our story from Tuesday.
"My thoughts were, you know, thank God this fellow is not Black and that he's a judge or he might be dead," Thompson said. "There's obviously disparity in treatment here based upon color and privileged position. So, what happens with it now? Well, you know, nobody's charged with anything, so potentially it does go away. I mean, there could be a complaint, I suppose, to the Judicial Conduct Commission about conduct not becoming of a judge."
Thompson is talking about New York State's Commission on Judicial Conduct. 2 On Your Side was hoping to interview someone from the Commission to give us some insight as to how something like this might be handled, but the Public Records Officer told us the Commission can't be of much help because there's a confidentiality statute that governs their work and it doesn't allow them to confirm or deny that they have any matter pending against any judge — unless and until one of two things happens — the judge waives confidentiality, or the Commission issues a public discipline.
Buffalo Police told us Tuesday not pressing charges is a discretionary call made by the officer.
Claudine Ewing talked to Grisanti's attorney on Tuesday. He told her Grisanti "wished it wouldn't have happened." Grisanti was not arrested and was not charged.