{news} (Courant) Probe urged After Arrest of Activisit at Rell Parade(Greens on enemies list??)

[Green Party-CT]

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     http://www.courant.com/news/local/hc-krayeske0109.artjan09,0,3834577.story?coll=hc-headlines-home         

   
  Probe Urged After Arrest Of Activist At Rell Parade 

State Police Say They Keep Files, But No Enemies List 

    ADVERTISERS          
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       -->By CHRISTOPHER KEATING
Capitol Bureau Chief

January 9 2007

Gov. M. Jodi Rell and top lawmakers on Monday called for inquiries into the arrest of a political activist and free-lance journalist during Rell's inaugural parade last week and the filing of criminal charges against him.

In a letter to the state commissioner of public safety, Rell said she was concerned after reading reports that the state police maintain a "list" of individuals who could be viewed as potential threats to the governor.

In asking Commissioner Leonard Boyle to investigate the arrest of Kenneth Krayeske, the governor said that even in an era of heightened security, "we cannot permit the rights of individuals to be trampled."

Krayeske, a law school student and vocal critic of Rell, had been identified by state police as a possible threat to the governor, according to a Hartford police report. He had been taking photos along the parade route Wednesday before he was arrested.

Several lawmakers said they were outraged, calling for legislative hearings and saying the incident reeks of a secret police force and should not be tolerated in Connecticut.

Boyle Monday denied the state police keep a list of political enemies, saying that the notion is "completely incorrect."

"We do not maintain such lists," he said.



Boyle said his department maintains "intelligence files" on individuals "who meet criteria set out in federal regulations." Boyle would not comment on whether Krayeske met those criteria or whether the state police had a file on him before the inaugural parade.

Rep. Michael Lawlor, co-chairman of the legislature's judiciary committee, said the incident reminded him of his own arrest in March 1980 while he was taking photographs, much as Krayeske was. The difference, Lawlor said, is that he was in Gdansk, Poland, which was under martial law.

A former state prosecutor, Lawlor said misdemeanor charges against Krayeske for breach of peace and interfering with police should be dropped.

"Ken Krayeske did not commit a crime," Lawlor said. "He wasn't protesting. He had done nothing to interfere with the parade. He was taking photos as a journalist for a blog."

The exact circumstances of the incident remain in dispute. Legislators said Krayeske did nothing that could be perceived as a threat, but the investigating officer said he saw Krayeske "suddenly ride a mountain bike at a high rate of speed directly up the parade route, dump the bicycle, jumping off of it, and then running up to the parade procession directly in front of where the governor was passing by in the procession."

Krayeske is well known among political insiders as a passionate activist who served as the outspoken campaign manager for Clifford W. Thornton, the Green Party's candidate for governor, last fall. Krayeske was heavily involved in the unsuccessful negotiations to have Thornton appear in debates last fall between Rell and Democratic challenger John DeStefano.

When Thornton was blocked from the debates, Krayeske stormed to Rell's campaign headquarters with Thornton to confront Rell's campaign manager, Kevin Deneen. Another supporter with a video camera filmed the confrontation with Deneen, a high-pitched incident that a witness said involved screaming.

"I don't believe Kevin Deneen expected to see our faces today," Krayeske said at the time. "Perhaps we were too confrontational."

After a news conference by legislators Monday, Thornton said he could point directly to the reason for Krayeske's arrest. He said it dates to Rell's appearance at an Oct. 14 harvest festival in Glastonbury. Krayeske approached Rell and was "right in her face" about allowing Thornton into the debates, Thornton said.

"Gov. Rell's state trooper told me, point-blank, to keep Ken Krayeske away from the governor because he was a threat to the governor," Thornton said. "It's not a threat. It's in-your-face politics. I knew then that this was going to come back and haunt us in some way. [The trooper] said, `I don't want Ken Krayeske next to the governor again.'"

Before the parade on Wednesday, state police distributed Krayeske's photograph to Hartford police officers, according to a report written by Hartford Det. Jeff Antuna.

Boyle said that when state police are providing security for any dignitary, its intelligence unit does research to identify "persons who through their prior actions or statements show an intention or propensity to disrupt that event."

The determination to include Krayeske on the briefing list prior to the parade was based on the content of his website and his previous actions, Boyle said.

"The officers are not told to arrest the person on site, nor to detain, question them or otherwise approach them," Boyle said. "That information is provided to officers working at the event so that they might simply give closer scrutiny to that person."

Boyle said he did not know why the Hartford police officer decided to detain Krayeske. Whether Krayeske did anything wrong "is really something that is going to have to be decided through the court process," Boyle said.

Hartford police spokeswoman Nancy Mulroy defended the department's actions and said the arresting officer felt he had probable cause to make an arrest.

"We stand by our actions. We stand by the arrest. We did our job," Mulroy said Monday. "Now it's up to the courts to adjudicate."

Krayeske was arrested in front of 1 Pearl St. at 1:20 p.m.

"We observed the accused suddenly ride his mountain bike at a high rate of speed to the parade route," Mulroy said. "It's our job to provide security. It's unfortunate, but in today's world, post 9/11, security is a very serious matter and we err on the side of caution. If someone is behaving in an erratic fashion, they can expect the attention of law enforcement."

Mulroy said the department's intelligence division recommended Krayeske's bail to be set at $75,000 based on Krayeske's prior arrest record.

Krayeske has three prior arrests involving acts of civil disobedience, including protesting the launch of a nuclear submarine in Groton. In March 2003, he was arrested near a federal building on High Street in Hartford and charged with first-degree criminal trespass, disorderly conduct and interfering with police, Mulroy said.

Legislators and Krayeske's attorney questioned why Krayeske was held on misdemeanor charges for about 12 hours - until after the governor's inaugural ball that evening had concluded - before being released. His bail was reduced to a written promise to appear in court by a bail commissioner who came to police headquarters later in the day. But Krayeske was not released until after 1 a.m., officials said.

Mulroy said that if Krayeske feels he was treated unfairly, he is welcome to file a civilian complaint, which would be investigated by the department's internal affairs division.

Krayeske's lawyer, Norman Pattis, said police had no reason to detain Krayeske on a high bail, and then release him without bail once the governor's inaugural ball had ended.

"The courts say bond is intended only to ensure appearance at trial. They don't say you can use it to ice someone out of the governor's ball," Pattis said. "That to me is far more troubling than the arrest itself."

Contact Christopher Keating at ckeating at courant.com.

Courant Staff Writers Colin Poitras, Tracy Gordon Fox, Tina Brown and Mark Pazniokas contributed to this story. 
  Copyright 2007, Hartford Courant 
  
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