Syracuse, N.Y. — A Syracuse common councilor charged with choking a woman in a city apartment was arraigned Wednesday night.
Amir Gethers, 27, was charged Wednesday with criminal obstruction of breathing and second-degree harassment.
The woman, who told police she was his ex-girlfriend, said he had choked her on two different days, according to her statement filed in Syracuse City Court.
The woman, 28, told police Gethers first choked her while the two were sleeping in bed Sunday. He rolled on top of her and placed his hands around her neck until she couldn’t breathe, she said.
Gethers questioned her about another man and said she “f--ked up,” according to the woman’s statement.
He let go of the woman after she tried to push him off, she said. At that point, he had “snapped out of it” and left the bedroom, she told police.
Wednesday morning, again while sleeping, Gethers began choking her, she said, but not hard enough to stop her from breathing, according to her statement.
“He said he had some papers to give me,” the woman said. “I asked him if it was about serving me.”
“I’ve got lawyers,” she said Gethers replied.
The woman told police she recorded Gethers as he was on top of her.
Shortly after 8 a.m. Wednesday, the woman called police to report a physical domestic incident, according to police dispatches. She told dispatchers he had left the apartment and drove away, according to the dispatches.
On Wednesday night, Gethers was escorted into the city courtroom handcuffed and wearing jail clothes. He stood silently throughout the proceeding.
David Bruffett, a Cicero town justice handling centralized arraignment court, released Gethers after he pleaded not guilty.
Bruffett issued a temporary order of protection, prohibiting Gethers from having contact with the woman he’s accused of choking.
Gethers’ next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 3.
Criminal obstruction of breathing is a misdemeanor. Harassment in the second degree is a violation.
Gethers was elected to a four-year, at-large seat on the Common Council in 2021.
At 26, Gethers was the youngest Black man elected to a Syracuse Common Council seat, according to city records.
The council has the ability to remove a councilor because of misconduct after a hearing and a three-fourths vote.
Staff writer Fernando Alba covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, question or comment? Reach him at 315-690-6950, at falba@syracuse.com, or on Twitter at @byfernandoalba.