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Man gets arrested three times in one day due to being released on bail reform law


The new laws are allowing suspects like Nolan to be released with an appearance ticket instead of being taken into custody. (PHOTO: Troy Police)
The new laws are allowing suspects like Nolan to be released with an appearance ticket instead of being taken into custody. (PHOTO: Troy Police)
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TROY, N.Y. (WRGB) - Three arrests in one day, spread across seven hours and just two blocks!

Those are the dizzying numbers from just one suspect that has the Troy Police Union in New York calling for changes to bail reform laws.

That suspect is Scott Nolan.

The new laws are allowing suspects like Nolan to be released with an appearance ticket instead of being taken into custody.

The Troy Police Union believes this is putting an unnecessary burden on their officers by having to repeatedly catch this man. They also say the new laws diminish the power of arrest.

The state's new bail laws tangled up Troy Police in a game loop of catch and release. They arrested Scott Nolan three times in seven hours yesterday.

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Around 9 a.m. they arrested him and charged him for shoplifting. He was released with an appearance ticket.

Hours later, they say he assaulted a man just before 2:30 p.m. He was arrested and released again.

Then just before 4:30 p.m., they say he hit another person with a brick. Police charged him with second degree attempted assault and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, which kept him in custody.

"They just basically become a reactive instead of a proactive police department," says Nicholas Laviano, the president of Troy's Police Union.

MORE: Bail reform supporters rally at state capital to protect law, end mass criminalization

Laviano says the department knows Nolan well. This isn't his first déjà vu with the department.

Back in January police charged him with criminal mischief and released him. They say they caught him committing the same crime hours later.

Laviano says his criminal history is 50 pages long, and that has to be printed out every time he's arrested. He says that process uses up time and taxpayer money.

"It's a morale killer," Laviano says. "They know that they're not out there doing the real police work that they want to be doing."

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The new laws eliminate cash bail for most misdemeanors, non-violent felonies and e felonies. Supporters of the measure said the laws could cut down on mass incarceration, especially people that can't afford bail.

Assemblyman John McDonald, says this example shows that the new laws may need tweaking.

"You talk to most people in law enforcement they don't disagree with the principles behind bail reform," saidAssemblyman John McDonald. "What is concerning is when you have persistent cases like this which are really occupying a lot of law enforcement's time."

Again, Nolan has been remanded and is in the Rensselaer County Jail. He will be back in court Friday.

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