Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan has apologized on social media for comparing Albany protesters' actions this week to those of the people who attacked the U.S. Capitol in January.
Protests that spread across the country in the wake of the fatal police shootings of Daunte Wright in Minnesota and Adam Toledo in Chicago reached the Capital Region this week. Protesters marched across the city to the Albany Police South Station on Wednesday evening, and that's where police say they attempted to kick down the doors and broke a window. Protesters who were there, meanwhile, say police actions caused things to get out of hand.
Sheehan said Friday that, while she understands the protesters' concerns, she wasn't in favor of the events that followed. She compared them to the Capitol rioters from January 6. Now, she's apologizing for those comments.
...gain unlawful entry into a government building. To be clear, the January 6 insurrection was fueled by white supremacy and was an assault on our democracy. In no way did I intend to compare the insurrection to the BLM movement or protests. I am sorry.
— Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan (@MayorSheehan) April 17, 2021
Gatherings calling for social justice and police reform continue this weekend, including marking the five-year anniversary of the fatal shooting of Edson Thevenin by a Troy Police sergeant following a DWI stop.
An internal investigation by Troy police found Sgt. Randall French, now deceased, improperly forced Thevenin's car off the road, and that he lied about intentionally placing himself in the direct path of the 37-year-old's vehicle before shooting Thevenin seven times. French, however, was cleared by a Rensselaer County grand jury.
A rally in Thevenin's memory is scheduled for this weekend, and people are also gathering today in Albany's Townsend Park in response to Wednesday evening's incident at South Station.