The judge was replaced after he pushed a police officer over in a fight over a shirtless parking space
Mark Grisanti, a judge in the New York Court of Claims, will not be reappointed to a second term this week after a heated confrontation with Buffalo police in 2020. Grisanti and his wife were fighting with neighbors over street parking when police were called. Body shot shows the shirtless judge shoving an officer to the ground. He was arrested but never faced any charges over the incident.
The police interaction escalated after Grisanti’s wife did not follow orders stopped screaming and was handcuffed. The judge confronted them and said, “You better get the hell away from my wife.” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn explained to WGRZ that the officers decided not to file charges. While they did not know the man they arrested had been tried, Flynn said the officer later learned his identity.
The DA personally does not believe Grisanti’s actions were criminal. He added: “Frankly speaking, this is no different than four 50-year-olds and 60-year-olds acting like children.” Regardless of the officers’ decision, New York’s Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended that Grisanti be censured in April 2024 over the incident. Terry Connors, Grisanti’s attorney, Spectrum news 1:
“Judge Grisanti has not received official notice of reappointment. But the judges and lawyers who know his work best have reached out to express support. Even the State Judicial Conduct Commission, after a thorough investigation, concluded that two hours of misconduct did not warrant his removal from the bench. Every objective measure supports his retention.”
It wouldn’t be ridiculous to suggest that the bodycam footage was the sole reason Grisanti was replaced. His relationship with the locality law enforcement Fees have been reduced. If the footage didn’t exist, this could all have been swept under the rug.
