Sources: Gloversville mayor forcing police chief out

13 Investigates is told Gloversville Police Chief Anthony Clay has been asked to resign. This news comes weeks after he gave us an exclusive look at how bad the opioid crisis is in his city.

We have learned that city leaders were furious with the chief’s decision to share the scope of the city’s opioid addiction problem. So why did our series of reports create so much controversy and cost the chief his job?

“It’s a personnel matter. We have a very strict policy that we do not comment publicly on personnel matters. I can’t really comment on that. He has not been terminated.” said Gloversville Mayor Vincent DeSantis.

Every city and town in the region struggles with the opioid epidemic, but only Gloversville allowed 13 Investigates to get a first-hand look at the grim reality police officers face every day.

However, it’s clear DeSantis is not a fan. He says it casts the city in an unfair light.

“It depicted Gloversville as a crime-ridden community. That was the only thing that was there,” he said. “In actuality, we are really being very proactive in improving our city on many levels.”

Positive Feedback

13 Investigates received a lot of positive feedback about the two-part series. It gave you an inside look at the devastating effects the opioid epidemic has on communities, like Gloversville. That included what police have to endure regularly — saving lives by administering Narcan. The mayor and city officials may have been upset, but 13 Investigates has emails and Facebook posts thanking us for shining a light on this ugly epidemic.

One of the people who reached out to 13 Investigates was Ginger Cato, the head of the Rob Constantine Recovery Community & Outreach Center.

“We had someone come in after the first piece aired. The next morning someone came and said they had seen the piece, they had been in the house before,” Cato said. “They had revived the person that had overdosed that we saw in the body cam footage, and they were scared and were seeking help.”

13 Investigates tried to reach Clay, but we were told he is in the process of finalizing his departure agreement with the city and would have no comment.

An official release is expected later this week.