State Supreme Court judge censured four years after shoving cop

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- A State Supreme Court judge who has been investigated since 2020 after a violent confrontation with Buffalo Police officers will keep his job, but is being publicly condemned for his actions.

The 6-4 vote to censure Judge Mark Grisanti by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct came down four years after a parking dispute with neighbors outside his home.

In 2020, Grisanti got into a loud, physical confrontation with neighbors Joseph and Gina Mele about the way they parked their cars on the street. He said they were blocking the driveway to his house and used multiple expletives against them. At one point, Joseph ripped off Grisanti's shirt.

When he called 911, he told the operator that his son and daughter are police officers and requested the vehicles get ticketed and towed if not moved.

During the altercation, Grisanti's wife, Maria, taunted and claimed to officers that they weren't going to arrest her. However, she was handcuffed. Gristanti then shoved the officer in retaliation and criminal trials were never filed in the incident.

The commission said Grisanti showed "exceptionally poor judgment" during the incident and fell short of the behavior expected from a judge.