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Binghamton man appears in court after violent arrest

A coalition of activists continues to demand charges be dropped against Hamail Waddell.
Vaughn Golden
/
WSKG
A coalition of activists continues to demand charges be dropped against Hamail Waddell.

Just over two weeks after he was violently arrested by Binghamton police, Hamail Waddell pleaded not guilty to charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest Wednesday.

Around 30 people, including friends, family and activists, packed Binghamton City Court for the brief hearing Wednesday.

A future appearance date was not assigned during the hearing.

A Binghamton police officer, Brad Kacynski, was seen kneeling on Waddell’s neck during the arrest in the early morning hours on New Year’s Day in downtown Binghamton.

Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham said earlier this week that police are still looking for more video from the arrest as part of an investigation into the incident. He declined to give a timeline on the investigation. Meanwhile, Kacynski remains on administrative duties.

Following Wednesday’s court hearing, one of Waddell’s supporters was stopped by Binghamton police while exiting City Hall and cited with criminal possession of a weapon. The woman said she had a knife on her keychain and presented it to security to hold onto while she was in the building.

Corrected: January 19, 2023 at 11:13 AM EST
A previous version of the story has been updated to correctly reflect Waddell was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
Vaughn Golden has been reporting across New York since 2016. Working as a freelancer while studying journalism and economics at Ithaca College, Vaughn has reported for a number of outlets including the Albany Times Union, New York Post, and NPR among others. Prior to coming to WSKG full-time, Vaughn was a reporter for the Watertown Daily Times. Vaughn now covers government and politics for WSKG.