New York State Supreme Court Justice Mark Grisanti shoved a police officer after getting into a street fight with his neighbor over a parking space, according to video footage from Buffalo police obtained by Law360. But the justice—who told cops during the June 22 incident that he was a “good friend” of Mayor Byron Brown and “cousin” of Deputy Police Commissioner Joseph Gramaglia—was ultimately never arrested or charged. In the video, a shirtless Grisanti can be seen charging at police officers, spewing multiple profanity-filled threats, and eventually shoving an officer who was trying to detain his wife. At one point, two officers handcuffed the judge and his wife, whom a cop described in the video as being “intoxicated.”
While detained, Grisanti bragged about his political connections, but later denied to a police detective that he had mentioned specific names. “You’re dropping everybody’s name with a badge and you’re expecting special treatment. How does that look like to everybody in this environment right now?” the police officer asked as he put Grisanti into a police car, according to the footage. “You smell like cheap beer. It doesn’t look good.” While handcuffed in the car, a lieutenant directed a patrol officer to allow Grisanti to speak to his first cousin, Det. Mark Costantino. District Attorney John J. Flynn came to the conclusion that Grisanti did not actually tackle a police officer or injure anyone and that “all parties were equally childish.” Grisanti has since apologized for the incident but still defended his actions, telling police to take it as “constructive criticism.”
Read it at Law 360
