SARATOGA SPRINGS - A former Albany policeman said he was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder when he threw a table into a window at Saratoga Hospital on Friday afternoon.

William Bonanni, 50, said his family called police and asked for him to be taken to a hospital for treatment the day of the incident. He said he had not slept in three days. The former officer, who retired from the Albany police force four years ago, said his treating physician works at Saratoga Hospital and that they brought him into a secure area while he suffered a mental breakdown.

"My family saw that my PTSD was flaring up, they were concerned for me," Bonanni said. "The cops came to the house. ... I had to go. They should have put me in a room where I didn't have access to something."

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Bonanni said he appeared in Saratoga Springs City Court on Tuesday and his case was adjourned to next month. He said he intends to obtain treatment for his PTSD while the case is pending.

City police charged Bonanni with a felony count of criminal mischief.

Bonanni said he was diagnosed with PTSD symptoms after his retirement. He said his struggles stem from a 2003 incident when he and another officer, Joseph Gerace, were involved in a fatal shooting of a bystander.

The officers opened fire on a driver fleeing a DWI stop as the man's vehicle careened through a crowded intersection at Lark and State streets on New Year's Eve. Police at the time said a round from Gerace's gun ricocheted off a sidewalk and pierced the chest of David Scaringe, a young engineer walking to his home.

Bonanni and Gerace were narrowly cleared by a grand jury and both remained on leave for about two years as the department sorted out their future. The city paid $1.3 million to Scaringe's family.

While Bonanni eventually returned to duty, Gerace never came back.

Bonanni on Tuesday said that he watched Scaringe die and the incident haunts him. "He looked at me and said, 'Officer, I've been shot.'"

Bonanni underwent additional training but was not punished for his actions that afternoon.

"I'm going to get treatment, I don't want to live this way for the rest of my life," Bonanni said.