NY Judge Holds Police Accountable: Denial of Video Surveillance to CompassCare is “Not the Final Order”

On Wednesday October 26, Judge Edward Pace of the New York State Supreme Court of Erie County heard oral arguments regarding a firebombed pro-life medical network’s lawsuit against the Amherst Police Department. CompassCare is petitioning the court to order the Amherst Police in the first ring suburb of Buffalo, NY to return video surveillance of the arson attack to the victims. After hearing the arguments, Judge Pace denied CompassCare the return of their private video surveillance saying it is “not the final order.” CompassCare CEO, Rev. Jim Harden commented, “The Judge’s ruling is a wise act to hold the police accountable to provide equal justice to pro-life people and organizations.” Judge Pace set another hearing date for January 17 to revisit his decision in light of the status of the investigation.

CompassCare contends that, 142 days after the domestic terror incident causing half a million dollars’ worth of damage to the medical facility and injuring two firefighters, by depriving CompassCare of its own video surveillance of the crime, the police and FBI are hindering both the identification of the pro-abortion extremists as well as harming CompassCare’s attorney’s ability to prepare a civil lawsuit against the arsonists. The statute of limitations for CompassCare to file a civil suit against their attackers is one year from the day of the attack. Both the lack of access to the key evidence and the serial abdication of duty to investigate and indict in over 150 attacks on pro-life organizations nationwide is of concern not only to CompassCare but to pro-life organizations and leaders like Sen. Ted Cruz. It takes time for attorneys to prepare a case once the accused are identified and the evidence is accessible. Rev. Harden believes, due to the efficiency of the attack and attackers, the attack was a hit job and that the capture of one or both of the perpetrators could lead to the revelation of a wide spread network colluding to deprive pro-life people of their rights, harming pro-abortion midterm election aspirations.

While the attorney representing the Amherst Police Department, Stanley Sliwa, insisted CompassCare has an ulterior motive for the return of its private property, Rev. Harden said, “While Sliwa’s remarks at the hearing are condescending, he really chickened out before the Judge to reveal his bias against pro-life people per his public remarks elsewhere about pro-life victims of violence. He told media that the release of the video would foment violence from the right, insinuating that pro-lifers are ‘nut jobs…with guns and AK-47s, bombing and killing people.’” Harden went on to say, “Even if the police and FBI fail to indict a single person and the threats from Jane’s Revenge and pro-abortion politicians continue, we will not stop trying to save women and their preborn boys and girls from abortion. All people are made in the image of God and are therefore equally valuable, without qualification. Apart from that truth, human dignity is a well gone dry and justice only a mirage. And if preaching pro-life truth is criminalized, we will still be found by God advocating the protection of all human life, in the cause against the greatest systemic injustice in the history of man. Because if we don’t fight for the humanity of everyone, we’ve lost already.”