] The security officer at Crossgates Mall who signed a
] trespassing complaint against a war protester was fired
] Friday.
]
] Robert Williams said he was called into the mall security
] office about four hours into his shift and told he was
] fired because of Monday's incident and for signing the
] complaint against Steve Downs, 60, of Selkirk.
]
] Downs' arrest brought Crossgates national notoriety and
] sparked a protest march against the facility's policies.
] He was arrested for trespassing when mall officials told
] him to leave or remove an anti-war T-shirt he had
] purchased there.
]
] On Wednesday, amid a protest over Downs' arrest,
] officials from Pyramid Management Group, which operates
] the mall, said they would drop the charge against Downs.
]
] Williams, who has worked in security at the mall for more
] than nine years, said he signed the complaint on the
] orders of his boss, assistant director of security Fred
] Tallman. Those orders came after Tallman told the
] Guilderland police officer working the case that he
] (Tallman) was too busy to come to the police station and
] that Williams represented the company and should sign.

] Williams, who has worked in security at the mall for more
] than nine years, said he signed the complaint on the
] orders of his boss, assistant director of security Fred
] Tallman. Those orders came after Tallman told the
] Guilderland police officer working the case that he
] (Tallman) was too busy to come to the police station and
] that Williams represented the company and should sign.
]
] "I just followed directions of management of that mall to
] the letter," Williams said Friday evening. "And I get
] fired for doing my job."