09:35:18 04-Jul-2009
Union aide allegedly spat on cop: Dispute said to be over shots of booze; letter calls for resignation
Oct. 1--Editor's Note: To view a PDF of the letter to the Albany Police Officer's Union requesting James Lyman's resignation, click here.
ALBANY -- An irked Albany cop is calling for the ouster of a top police union official he says "spat in the face" of a fellow officer during a dispute over shots of Jagermeister alcohol last month.
Officer Daniel Condon wrote a Sept. 25 letter urging fellow union members to demand the resignation of James Lyman, the executive director of Council 82, which represents rank and file Albany police as well as more than 70 law enforcement unions statewide.
Condon, writing an open letter to the Albany police officers, said Lyman spat on Officer Gordon McLean during the union's annual meeting in Lake Placid on Sept. 11. He said the incident occurred because "Gordy accidentally gave away Mr. Lyman's shots of Jagermeister," a strong-tasting alcoholic beverage popular with, among others, college students.
"I for one feel that Mr. Lyman's behavior was not only inappropriate and classless but also repugnant," Condon wrote. Reminding union members not to forget they pay Lyman's salary, he added, "if you spit on one of us, then you have spat on us all!"
Lyman, a retired Albany detective who was Council 82's president before being promoted to executive director at the meeting, noted Condon was not there at the time.
He called it a "personal matter between me and Mr. McLean" and did not discuss details. He said it was not over Jagermeister. He said he has spoken with McLean since but declined to elaborate.
Lyman noted "underlying issues" and said "anybody who knows my character" can speak for it. He said he has "no idea" why Condon would be involved.
Lyman and Christian Mesley, the Albany police officer's union leader and current Council 82 president, said they have no plans for Lyman to step down.
Mesley said the incident happened at a bar and is not a union matter. He added Condon "doesn't know what happened ... he shouldn't have stuck his nose in. He obviously has an ax to grind."
Condon, whose letter was circulated in at least one police station, could not be reached. In his letter he stated there was "no excuse for this disgusting behavior …"
McLean could not be immediately reached.
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2008-10-01 04:34:25 (last modified)