John Sarcone, the U.S. Attorney, opened up on Monday about an incident that put his life at risk and became a focal point on a national level. Sarcone has criticized the actions of the Albany Police Department and the border policies during the era of former President Biden as contributing factors leading to the alleged knife assault by an undocumented individual hailing from El Salvador that took place last week. This event has sparked a political firestorm with members of the Republican party hastily attributing the situation to the immigration policies championed by Democrats.
At an unrelated media briefing held in Latham on Monday, Sarcone, appointed during Trump’s presidency, reinforced this viewpoint. Sharing his thoughts with journalists present, he expressed, ‘When I encounter something wrong, I recognize it.’ He recounted his chilling experience, which occurred while he stood arrow-straight near the Hilton hotel, the attacker’s shrieks tearing through the air around him.
He continued his narrative saying, ‘It didn’t take long for him to transform from a simple screaming man to an assailant. I noticed him advancing towards me, and I turned to face him, silently observing. That was when he revealed a knife and lunged at me. It was terrifying. I quickly retreated, reaching safety of the hotel lobby. But before I could even walk in, he had already turned his back and was moving away.’
Sarcone further revealed that, at this point, he reached out to the sheriff and decided to go back outside and keep the assailant engaged, in order to prevent him from fleeing the scene, as he was convinced that the man would cause grave harm, even possibly a fatality, later that night.
As per the statement of Craig Apple, the Sheriff of Albany County, Saul Morales-Garcia was seen brandishing a knife around the 40 Lodge Street area last Tuesday evening. Morales-Garcia now faces several charges, and his case is likely to progress to the federal court.
Sarcone disclosed that Morales-Garcia, now detained for his alleged attack on the U.S. Attorney, had criminal history prior to his deportation in 2010 and managed to re-enter the United States in 2021, during Biden’s term. Sarcone declared, ‘His presence on Albany streets was a risk that should never have been taken. There was no reason for him to return to our country after being deported.’
Despite being the son of a former New York City police detective, Sarcone describes himself as just an ‘ordinary citizen’ without any extraordinary skills in self-defense. He expressed his disbelief and anger towards the lack of police personnel in and around the Capitol.
Sarcone conveyed his incredulity, stating, ‘To my disbelief, the Albany Police did not respond to the scene at any point. The terrifying scene of a U.S. Attorney being chased by a man with a knife did not warrant a phone call from the police chief. Not a single police car arrived. I am thankful I reached out to the sheriff rather than relying on the Albany police, whose presence was noticeably absent.’
Responding to this, the Chief of Albany Police, Brendan Cox, stated to WAMC that he was not alerted that Sarcone was the victim until an external organization reached out to him the day after the terrifying incident.
Following a press conference in conjunction with federal officers, Sarcone revealed the details of the ordeal. The press conference was initially concerning the disclosure of 13 arrests connected to drug trafficking in New York City which involved people from the Capital Region.
During the operation, federal agents managed to confiscate significant amounts of cocaine, methamphetamine, cash, and cannabis. It was revealed that the culprits responsible were moving drugs from California to New York for distribution.
Ultimately though, Sarcone condemned the lackadaisical state laws and the state legislators hailing from New York City who, he asserts, have allowed syndicates of this nature to go unchecked. In his view, these deficiencies have plied the way for criminal organizations to flourish.