officer in Albany, New York is under investigation after he was caught on video accosting a busker and misleading him about local statutes in order to shoo him off the street.
The footage shows Officer Glenn Szelest telling the artist, Leif Solem, “Go down to City Hall, go see the clerk they’ll explain everything to you. First Amendment or nothing.”
However, the department told the Times-Union that buskers are not required to have permits to perform, nor is there a law against busking in the city.
“I’ve done it in Albany for 20 years,” Solem says in the footage, only for Szelest to reply, “Well, you haven’t done it down here, and you’re blocking the sidewalk, OK?”
Contrary to the officer’s statement, though, the footage clearly shows Solem standing in front of an empty building. Szelest then points to a t-shirt and calls it “debris,” claiming that it does not allow pedestrians to walk through the area.
The footage shows Officer Glenn Szelest telling the artist, Leif Solem, “Go down to City Hall, go see the clerk they’ll explain everything to you. First Amendment or nothing.”
However, the department told the Times-Union that buskers are not required to have permits to perform, nor is there a law against busking in the city.
“I’ve done it in Albany for 20 years,” Solem says in the footage, only for Szelest to reply, “Well, you haven’t done it down here, and you’re blocking the sidewalk, OK?”
Contrary to the officer’s statement, though, the footage clearly shows Solem standing in front of an empty building. Szelest then points to a t-shirt and calls it “debris,” claiming that it does not allow pedestrians to walk through the area.
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