{news} Inaugual Arrest Prompts Proposal

[Green Party-CT]

   http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-judiciary3feb13,0,478495.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines   Inaugural arrest prompts proposal                 By Brian Lockhart
Staff Writer

February 13, 2007

After last month's arrest of a political activist at the governor's inaugural parade, the co-chairmen of the General Assembly's Judiciary Committee are drafting bills that would require law enforcement to use greater care in assessing the potential threat posed by political dissidents.

State Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, and state Rep. Michael Lawlor, D-East Haven, will launch their effort tomorrow when the Judiciary Committee meets at 11 a.m. in Hartford.

"No one's saying you can't keep track of people on the (Internet) saying they're trying to disrupt an event," Lawlor said. "But you can't just go and arrest people."

On Jan. 3, Kenneth Krayeske, a political activist and blogger, was arrested after attempting to take pictures of Gov. M. Jodi Rell during the inaugural parade in Hartford. He was held on $75,000 bond and released that night, after Rell's inaugural ball.

Norwalk Police Chief Harry Rilling, president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, said he hopes the Judiciary Committee will include his group in its discussions.

"We consider ourselves the professionals who know the difficulties involved in VIP protection," Rilling said. "We'd hope we'd have an opportunity to express concerns and work out something that would be more effective and still protect the rights of citizens."

In a recent memo to Rell, Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle explained the circumstances surrounding Krayeske's arrest.

Boyle wrote that a detective with the state's criminal intelligence unit saw a blog entry by Krayeske on Dec. 29 urging a protest of the ball.

The Internet post, coupled with Krayeske's 2004 arrest on charges of obstructing free passage at the launch of a nuclear submarine in Groton, landed the activist on a list of "approximately 10 individuals" to look for at the inaugural events, Boyle wrote.

State troopers were briefed on the list the morning of Jan. 3, and Hartford police and members of the governor's security detail received the information at noon, Boyle wrote.

"At this briefing, members of the governor's security detail recognized Mr. Krayeske's photo and advised that he previously had approached you at a public event in a manner that caused some alarm," Boyle wrote Rell.

According to the Hartford police report, a detective with Rell's security detail saw Krayeske "suddenly ride a mountain bike at a high rate of speed directly up to the parade route," jump off and run up to the procession "directly in front of where the governor was passing."

Krayeske was stopped by Hartford police as he stepped off the curb into the route, according to the police report. It states Krayeske tried to pull away from police and, after identifying himself, was handcuffed and arrested.

Krayeske, who pleaded not guilty Jan. 30 and will return to court March 2, has said he was a freelance journalist trying to take photos of Rell. According to the police report, Krayeske had his bike, a wallet, plastic cards, a personal check and a nylon bag containing photographic equipment,.

In his memo, Boyle downplayed the role of state police in the arrest, writing the detective from Rell's security detail blocked Krayeske from the parade but moved on once Hartford police became involved.

Lawlor said he is concerned state police oversold Krayeske as a threat to their Hartford counterparts.

The legislation he and McDonald are proposing could prevent a reoccurrence by defining political dissidents versus threats; limiting the circumstances for surveillance on dissidents; ensuring that security briefings include reminders to respect constitutional rights; and creating a legislative oversight committee to review the procedures every few months, Lawlor said.

"The problem here is there was nothing about Ken Krayeske's history that would lead one to believe he's an actual, physical threat to the governor," Lawlor said. "The most he'd be a candidate for is heckling or trying to talk to the governor in the parade. I have no problem . . . if a cop stood next to him as the governor went by, asked him for ID or hassled him for a little bit. But they didn't. They arrested him on sight."

Lawlor and McDonald also are pursuing legislation to better control bail amounts and ensure they are not artificially inflated to detain individuals.

Boyle's memo to Rell does not explain why his bail was set at $75,000. Lawlor, a former prosecutor with the state's attorney's office in New Haven, said the amount is "ridiculous."

"Something extraordinary happened in the Krayeske situation where, by all accounts, it appears bail was used to deprive (him) of his liberty long enough to get past the governor's ball," McDonald said.

Lawlor said he has "anecdotal evidence" that such actions are becoming more routine in Connecticut.

Certain circumstances might warrant it, but he and McDonald want better oversight and guidelines, he said.

"Some states have a procedure called 'preventative detention' where you could hold people in prison, without bail, pre-trial, but you have to make a showing at a hearing that they present a danger to other people," Lawlor said.

Rilling said the state needs to gather the most accurate data possible on a potential threat.

"If it indicates a person has displayed no violence in the past, certainly that needs to be taken into consideration," he said. But "just because somebody has never been violent before does not necessarily take them off that 'person to watch' list."

Police must be concerned with protecting people, Rilling said.

"The bottom line is you have to do everything within your power to protect those people who may be targets for people who disagree with them, have a different political philosophy or want to make a name for themselves," he said. "You'd rather make a mistake and have it corrected than not act quickly enough and have someone able to seriously injure or, worse, kill a political figure."   Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc. 
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