OLEAN, N.Y. (WKBW) — 43-year-old Carlos Andres was arrested in the middle of the public comment period of Tuesday’s Olean city council meeting and charged with one count of disorderly conduct.
Aeryn Boyd told me dozens of people, including herself, came to the meeting to push back against reports that the city's wastewater treatment plant has dumped thousands of gallons of sewage into the Allegheny River.
Earlier in the public comment period, Andres spoke away from the podium, saying he felt more comfortable in his seat. Then he got up to speak a second time, with rolls of coins in hand, and he arrived at the podium claiming that he was offering some financial support to the city to fix the sewage problem.
He was then asked to leave by the council president and eventually arrested.
You can watch the full incident here:
Boyd’s video then shows Andres being taken down the hallway in handcuffs to the attached police station.
Q: "Why do you think Andres was arrested?"
Boyd: “For having an accent? For making them feel uncomfortable? ... Nobody understood why he was being arrested, and you can hear me saying over and over in my videos, why is he being detained, what is he being arrested for?"
I spoke to Mayor William Aiello about the incident on Thursday.
Q: "What would you say to anyone who thinks this was a racist incident?"
Mayor William Aiello: "This is not a racist incident… He was getting a little bit loud, and the president of the council, John Crawford, said public comment is over, and he kept continuing to talk…The council president wanted him, you know, escorted out of the meeting, and he started to resist to them, so they [arrested him and] charged him with disorderly conduct, disturbing a lawful assembly.”
Aiello also added that Andres "said in the meeting he was from Jamestown, but he has no permanent address and listed that he lives here in Olean.”
Aiello told me Andres’ original court appearance was scheduled for Thursday, but he was granted an adjournment. He told me a new court date will be scheduled sometime within the next two weeks.
