ALBANY, N.Y. — The union representing New York state troopers urged a judge Friday not to release sealed documents about the 1971 riot and retaking of Attica state prison in western New York.
The troopers’ Police Benevolent Association opposed Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s request to open remaining volumes of the 1975 Meyer Commission Report. Supreme Court Justice Patrick NeMoyer in Buffalo set a Jan. 17 deadline for written submissions.
In all, 11 prison workers and 32 inmates died — all but four shot by troopers and guards retaking the prison.
The union has a duty to protect the rights of troopers forced to testify about their actions during the riot, as well as those who have had to recount the event in criminal investigations and two decades of lawsuits, President Thomas Mungeer said Friday. Though he believes there is nothing to hide, painstaking investigations long ago concluded there was no criminal wrongdoing by troopers and this opens old wounds, he said.