Kingston Mayor Shayne Gallo (File photo)
KINGSTON, N.Y. ? A West Hurley man says he felt ?threatened? and ?intimidated? by Mayor Shayne Gallo when the city?s chief executive went on a ?road rage? rant in April.
John Bridges, 51, said Gallo acted like a ?maniac,? berating him while claiming Bridges had run his vehicle through a stop sign.
Bridges, an artist who owns a business, denies he passed a stop sign without stopping at the five-way intersection at Greenkill Avenue, the Boulevard and Wall Street about 6 p.m. on April 17.
The traffic incident occurred a day after Gallo, in a profanity-laced tirade, fired city Parking Enforcement Officer Jeremy Blaber. Blaber secretly recorded his firing and supplied it to the Freeman, which posted it on the newspaper?s website.
Bridges said he has heard the Blaber tape and that Gallo?s rant with him was not as intense and the mayor did not use profanity.
Gallo did not return an email message sent to his office for comment about the traffic incident.
The Freeman on Saturday reported the confrontation between Gallo and Bridges based on a police report but was unable to reach Bridges for comment at that time.
Bridges said he had not seen the police report before that article appeared and that the report misrepresented the confrontation.
Bridges described the intersection where the incident began as ?notoriously? confusing but said he came to a full stop before beginning to make his way up Wall Street.
Bridges said a silver car ?whipped? up alongside him on the one-way street. The man driving, he said, then began to yell at him, claiming that Bridges had just gone through a stop sign. Continued...
?He pulled up right next to me, rolled down his window, or the window was already rolled down,? Bridges said. ?I had never seen him before in my life, and he started yelling something about me going through the stop sign.?
?I didn?t know who he was, and I thought it was some kind of crank who was an overzealous citizen,? Bridges said. ?I know for a fact, categorically, I did not go through the stop sign.?
Bridges said he responded by shrugging, raising his hands and ?jokingly? saying ?I don?t understand? in French.
?He stated back that ?You may not be from here, but you still have to obey the laws of traffic.? ? He was really getting exercised about it. I could see he was persisting,? Bridges said.
Bridges said he then told Gallo, in English, ?Why don?t you go f--- yourself??
Then, Bridges said, he pulled his car away onto Fair Street, and Gallo?s vehicle, ?at a rapid, crazy rate of speed,? pulled up to within 6 to 8 inches of the rear bumper of Bridges? stopped vehicle.
Bridges said Gallo bolted from his car and, yelling, raced quickly to the driver?s side of Bridges? car.
?He got out and told me that, ?You picked the wrong guy to say ?Go f--- yourself? to,? Bridges said. ?I got out of the car, and he rapidly approached and tried to intimidate me.?
Gallo then went on to rant about how he was mayor of Kingston and knows the Kingston Police Department, Bridges said. He added that Gallo was suggesting he did something illegal but never directly threatened to have him arrested.
?He said that, ?I know the police, I am the mayor, and you can?t say ?f--- you,? and yelling more about how he knew the KPD, and ?I?ll have your license,?? Bridges recalled. Continued...
Bridges said he noticed an Ulster County Sheriff?s Office patrol car nearby as Gallo continued to rail against him. Bridges said he waved to the car to try to get the attention of the deputy.
Bridges said Gallo waved the car off, and the occupant drove it away.
At that point, Bridges said, he could think of only one other thing to do. He pulled his car 20 to 40 feet away and dialed 911 on his cellphone.
He said he told the dispatcher that ?some guy was road raging on me and that he said he was mayor,? Bridges said. ?I didn?t know who the mayor was from Adam.?
Bridges said he was asked to come to city police headquarters, located on Garraghan Drive in the Rondout district.
At the police station, Bridges inquired on several occasions if he was going to be arrested, he said.
Bridges said an officer there told him that Gallo did not want to make more of an issue out of the encounter. But, Bridges said, the officer lectured him.
?He (the mayor) said you were rude,? Bridges said the officer told him.
Bridges said he asked the officer if he ?was siding? with the mayor and the officer responded that he was not.
Bridges said the officer responded by saying he was getting ready to retire and that ?I don?t take sides.? Continued...
Bridges said he told the officer he did not know the person who was yelling at him was the mayor. He also? said he told the officer that the mayor ?went out of his way? to follow him.
Bridges said the officer gave him the impression that because the mayor was dropping the matter, he was somehow avoiding arrest.
The police report about the incident (below)?stated Bridges ?was advised (by police) that Mr. Gallo is the chief administrator for the city of Kingston and has a strong sense of duty to his constituents.
Kingston Police Department report on separate statements made by Mayor Shayne Gallo and Hurley resident Joh...
?He was also advised Mayor Gallo was not looking to press charges but was in fact looking out for the safety of the citizens of the city he serves and also looking out for the safety of Mr. Bridges as well,? the police report continued.
The report also indicated? Gallo called police from the scene.
Bridges, however, said the police report does not detail the full scope of Gallo?s actions, including driving after him and driving up alongside his vehicle at a high rate of speed.
?I told them exactly what happened,? Bridges said. ?I was talking about what the mayor had to say. It (didn?t seem) they were taking my report of a road rage incident seriously.?
Bridges also takes umbrage at being referred to as the ?offending operator,? while Gallo is described as being ?the complainant.?
Bridges also said he was disturbed the report lists his home address while Gallo?s address is listed as being Kingston City Hall. Bridges said that somehow reflected that he was being treated differently than Gallo.
When the Freeman first contacted Kingston Police Chief Egidio Tinti about the incident, he said he was unaware of any such event having taken place but that he does not examine routine blotter items on a daily basis.
Tinti said he would look for a report and subsequently supplied the newspaper with a copy.
Andrew Zweben, the city?s chief legal counsel, said on Friday that Bridges? vehicle came close to hitting Gallo?s.
?This guy almost hit the mayor,? Zweben said. ?The mayor called the police and did not want an arrest made. He just wanted to make note of it.
?The guy was very hostile,? Zweben said.
Source: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2013/05/07/news/doc5189804f335b5606719595.txt
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