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After Syracuse police arrested Common Councilor Amir Gethers Wednesday morning following a domestic physical violence call to Syracuse police, the common council has not made a decision regarding Gethers’ future in the council. Here’s the current state of the situation and what could happen next.

The story so far

Police charged Gethers with criminal obstruction of breathing and second-degree harassment. The victim was a past girlfriend of his who has not been identified by name, syracuse.com reported.

Gethers pleaded not guilty at the arraignment, which is an initial pretrial court hearing, on Wednesday night. He was released with an order of protection that prohibits him from contacting the woman he is accused of choking.

Following the arraignment, authorities released more information regarding the nature of the incident. The woman said in her statement to police that Gethers choked her in bed on two separate occasions, on Sep. 18 and Wednesday morning before the arrest.

In the statement, the woman also detailed conversations between her and Gethers that alluded to Gethers planning to serve her with legal documents, according to syracuse.com.

What local leaders have said

“The charges against Councilor Gethers are very concerning,” Common Councilor Michael Greene wrote in an email to The Daily Orange. “The Council does not have any additional information other than what has been reported so we will be looking to understand the situation fully in the coming days.”

Mayor Ben Walsh called the situation “serious,” according to CNY Central.

“At this time, it must be handled through the legal system to provide due process,” Walsh said.

Gethers did not appear at Wednesday’s public works committee meeting, though he is a member, following his arrest. Common Councilor Latoya Allen said the council does not know if he will be in attendance at the council’s Monday meeting, syracuse.com reported.

Allen said that the common council will most likely wait to discuss the events until the Monday meeting since it would be inconvenient to gather the council members for an emergency meeting over the weekend.

Allen and Greene said the common council will not make a decision regarding Gethers’ future as a member of the body until they have learned more about the situation and discussed it further.

Greene told CNY Central that there is no suspension protocol in place for removing a member of the common council.

“He can choose not to attend meetings, it’s totally up to him on what decides to do, but there’s not any mechanism in the city charter to suspend a member,” Greene said.

None of the other common councilors responded to a request for comment from The D.O.

What’s next?

Criminal obstruction of breathing is a class A misdemeanor under the New York state penal code. Second-degree harassment is classified as a violation.

According to the Syracuse City Charter, a member of the council can be punished or expelled for “official misconduct” by a three-fourths vote by the common council following a hearing in their defense.

If Gethers is found guilty of criminal obstruction of breathing, he may be sentenced to a maximum of one year in jail or three years of probation. Gethers’ next court date is set for Nov. 3.

Published on September 25, 2022 at 11:30 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu