Surprising news this morning from Albany County DA David Soares. In short: all of those arrested for trespass will NOT be prosecuted. Good news for Occupy and savings for the County. When those people who were arrested appear in Court on November 21 and 22 in response to the Appearance Tickets they were issued, the charges will be dismissed.
Here's the Albany Times Union:
The Albany County district attorney's office said the 25 Occupy Albany protesters arrested Saturday for staying in a state-owned park across from the Capitol past an 11 p.m. curfew will not be prosecuted for trespassing.
State Police made 13 more arrests at the site late Sunday.
The charges against those taken out of Lafayette Park on Saturday and arrested by State Police will be dismissed when the activists show up for their appearance tickets in Albany City Court on Nov. 21 and 22, Cecilia Logue, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, told the Times Union Sunday.
The decision is in line with Albany County District Attorney David Soares' assertion soon after the protest began 24 days ago that as long as the demonstrators remain peaceful, they will not be prosecuted.
"(Soares) has said that he believes the resources in Albany county could be better used," said Logue. "There are more pressing needs in the county and there are not enough resources to go around."
The decision not to prosecute creates some additional tension in the conflict between Governor Cuomo, who has asked that the 11 pm curfew in the parks be enforced, on one hand, and Mayor Jennings and DA Soares on the other. And it may open the door to a legal battle: if police are directed to make arrests when they know in advance that the charges will not be prosecuted, are they subjecting themselves and the state to civil liability?