Upstate New York Mall Drops Peace T-Shirt Charges

By Jeanne King

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The owner of a shopping mall where a lawyer was arrested this week after refusing to take off a T-shirt advocating peace on Thursday opted to drop trespassing charges against him.

Stephen Downs, 61, was detained on Monday after security guards at the Crossgates Mall near Albany, N.Y., ordered him to take off his shirt that read "Give Peace A Chance" and "Peace on Earth" or leave the mall.

When he refused, security guards called local police, who handcuffed Downs, arrested him and held him for two hours.

The mall owner has changed its mind, and the charges will be dropped, said Guilderland, N.Y., Police Chief James Murley.

"This is a no-win situation," the police chief said.

Downs, who is director of the Albany office of the state Commission on Judicial Conduct that investigates complaints of misconduct against judges, said his arrest attracted worldwide attention and he fielded calls from Canada and Europe. The furor also drew the attention of late night television host Jay Leno (news - Y! TV).

Downs also said he would like an apology from the mall owners.

Crossgates Mall is owned by Pyramid Mall Management, headed by Chief Executive Officer Robert Congel, according to a spokesman.

On Wednesday, about a hundred demonstrators marched through the mall to protest Downs' arrest and told a mall manager they wouldn't stop until charges were dropped.

Earl Wells, a spokesman for the mall owner, defended the guards, saying the mall is private property and there is a policy of asking people who display anti-war messages on their clothes to leave.

Downs and his 31-year-old son Roger both bought the T-shirts at the mall for $23 apiece. The younger man took his shirt off at the guards' request.