Hall’s Arrest Not His First Run-in with RPD

Weeks after pleading guilty to fourth-degree grand larceny, Anthony Hall is back behind bars, this time for allegedly assaulting a police officer. Hall, 38, a former Rochester city employee and ex-leader of the Pathways to Peace anti-violence program, was arrested early Thursday morning following an incident on East Main Street.

Anthony Hall - FB Photo

This is not Hall’s first run-in with the Rochester Police Department (RPD). In 2022, Hall filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Rochester, alleging wrongful arrest and harassment by RPD officers. The suit stemmed from a June 18, 2022, incident in which Hall claimed he was unjustly arrested and charged with obstruction of governmental administration while serving as the city's Manager of Violence Prevention and director of the Pathways to Peace program.

According to the complaint, Hall was dining at the S&T Lounge on North Street when he stepped outside to investigate an early morning shooting. After conversing with one officer without issue, Hall alleged that Officer Adam Gorman confronted him, forcibly detained him without justification, and, along with Lt. Nicholas Adams, falsified the arrest report to support the obstruction charge. This charge was later dropped following a review of body-worn camera footage by Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley and RPD Chief David Smith, which reportedly contradicted the officers' accounts.

Regarding Thursday’s arrest, the Rochester Police Department reported that officers responded to a domestic disturbance call shortly after midnight and encountered Hall outside a residence with a broken screen window. Despite multiple requests to leave, Hall initially refused and engaged in a verbal altercation with the officers. As he eventually began to depart, Hall allegedly shoved an officer in the chest, causing the officer to fall and sustain an upper-body fracture. The injured officer was transported to a local hospital and is expected to be out of work for several months.

Hall was arraigned Thursday morning on charges including second-degree assault, resisting arrest, obstruction of governmental administration, second-degree harassment, and trespassing. He was remanded to the Monroe County Jail without bail, with his next court appearance scheduled for January 7.

Hall is already facing a 1½ to 3-year prison term for stealing from the Coalition of North East Associations (CONEA), a nonprofit where he volunteered. Between December 1, 2018, and September 3, 2019, Hall misused the organization's debit card to transfer over $1,000 to his personal Cash App account.

Initially charged with third-degree grand larceny, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, Hall accepted a plea deal that reduced the charge to fourth-degree grand larceny, which has a maximum penalty of four years. As part of his plea agreement, Hall is required to repay $33,500 in restitution to CONEA.

His recent arrest marks a significant fall from grace for the former head of the city's Pathways to Peace initiative, which focuses on gang intervention and anti-violence efforts.

As of January 2025, there have been no public updates regarding the status or resolution of Hall's lawsuit against the city. City officials have declined to comment on pending litigation, and court records do not indicate any recent developments in the case.