Robert Freeman
NY Department of State
41 State Street
Albany, NY 12231
June 20, 2008
Dear Mr. Freeman:
I have a question about a situation that occurred at the June 17 Prattsburgh Town Board Meeting with respect to the conduct of the Town Supervisor, Harold McConnell.
I was videotaping the meeting, and toward the end a man was speaking. I turned the camera on him, and after a moment or two he lunged for the camera, pushing it and shouting that I couldn’t take his picture.
Fortunately the camera was not hurt and I was not hurt, although it was upsetting. Others in the room told him not to do that again. One of the onlookers said, “Harold, straighten him out.” McConnell then said, “Straighten him out?” He then lambasted the people in the room who had told the man to stop his actions, and claimed that they were interfering with the man’s right to speak. He said, “Let one person respond to one of you people in anything other than kowtowing and you jump all over him.”
He did tell the man that I had the right to have the camera but said to those assembled that I shouldn’t have taken his picture.
At the end of the meeting I went up to the Supervisor and told him I thought he should have admonished the man to refrain from further physical outbursts and he repeated that what happened was my own fault for using the camera.
Is that true? Was it all right for that man to push away the camera and should the Supervisor have told him to stop? I would appreciate your comments. Of course I have the whole thing on videotape if you are interested in seeing it.
Very truly yours,
Ruth Matilsky
6724 Baker Rd.,
Prattsburgh, NY 14873
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