Highlights: In 2015, upstate New York judge Robert J. Putorti was overseeing a court hearing involving a Black defendant. Nothing out of the ordinary for a judge to do right? Except, when a Black man approached the stand “too quickly,” Judge Putorti pulled a loaded gun on him in court.
Recently, this led to a review from the New York State Court of Appeals, where they discovered that Putorti would often brag about the incident and would recall the race and stature of the defendant when he would tell the story of the incident to others, according to the Associated Press.
Specifically, Putorti described the defendant to another judge as being a “big black man” who is the same height as LeBron James (6’9”). He also described him as being built “like a football player.” But in reality, the defendant was built more like Allen Iverson, coming in at six feet tall and only weighing 165 pounds.
Putorti’s termination was also made easier by the fact that he participated in fundraising events that were illegal for New York State judges to attend. This occurred while he was being investigated for the loaded gun incident.
Dude he pulled a gun on an unarmed man. Owning and carrying a gun outside of court? Yes, fine whatever. Inside the court where no one except the bailiff(s) is supposed to have a weapon? Nah mate. No fucking way.
They make us regular people go through metal detectors and even leave our cell phones outside. I think I'm okay with judges not being allowed to strut around with firearms in a courtroom.