Just a week after a New York man with 139 arrests was released under New York’s new bail-reform law thanked Democrats, the police union protested another case where a man, Scott Nolan, was arrested three times in one day but released each time under the new law. Nolan’s criminal record is 50 pages long.
According to WRBG-TV, Nolan was arrested on Monday at 9 a.m. in Troy on suspicion of shoplifting and given a court appearance ticket. Then at 2:30 p.m., he was arrested again for an alleged assault and again released. Then two hours later, he was arrested again for hitting someone with a brick and given a third ticket for a court appearance.
Police are outraged that they no longer have the ability to hold such recidivists for bail.
This controversy follows the arrest of another recidivist, Charles Barry, 56, who could not be held despite his 139 arrests in New York City. As he left the Manhattan Criminal Court, he celebrated and thanked Democrats stating “I’m famous! I take $200, $300 a day of your money, cracker! You can’t stop me! It’s the Democrats! The Democrats know me and the Republicans fear me. You can’t touch me! I can’t be stopped!”
In 2020 alone, Barry has been arrested six times and freed six times. In a statement that is being repeated by many police officers, he screamed “Bail reform, it’s lit!”
The bail reform legislation has worthy purposes. However, it would seem that such reforms could take extreme recidivists into account, particularly in the midst of a crime spree. What is clear is that the law is likely to become an issue in the 2020 election with celebratory recidivists like Barry in the news.