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Schenectady officer 'cuffed, taken to jail

Posted: Aug 18, 2009 12:33 PM EDT

Suspended Schenectady police officer Kyle Hunter was handcuffed and taken to jail Tuesday morning after a judge increased his bail to $5,000 dollars.

Hunter had been free on $500 bail.

He is accused of violating an order of protection at his estranged girlfriend's home. He was originally arrested after accusations of committing domestic violence against the woman.

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Carl Strock THE VIEW FROM HERE
Carl Strock can be reached at 395-3085 or by e-mail at carlstrock@dailygazette.com.
Sch’dy cops
made mistake, change vowed

    Here is one thing that has changed in the Schenectady Police Department: When an offi cer screws up, the chief admits it and says from now on things will be different.
    Under a previous regime which I will not further identify the operating principle was to admit no shortcomings. Defend the officers no matter what, on the grounds that they put their lives on the line, which naturally encouraged a culture of we-can-do-whateverwe-want.
    Latest case: A young guy by the name of Derrick Naze, a manager of Subway shops, living in a rented apartment near Union College, had his car stolen last week by a former high school friend who was apparently brain-addled with drugs.
    Derrick called the cops, who, when they showed up a couple of hours later, evinced little interest. So Derrick and his brothers went off in search of it themselves and found it in Hamilton Hill, with the former friend, Jared Tenace, still at the wheel. Jared took off, they chased him at high speed to Amsterdam and beyond before finally losing him in Saratoga County.
    Eventually Jared turned up in Scotia, and the Scotia police caught him at a roadblock near the Western Gateway Bridge. Which should have been the end of the story. But no. When a Schenectady cop arrived and checked back with headquarters, he told the Scotia police that Schenectady didn’t want him.
    So Scotia had to let him go. Never mind the car theft, and never mind the $3,000 worth of stereo equipment that at some point had been ripped out of Derrick’s car. .............>>>>.............>>>>..............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01300&AppName=1

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Disciplinary hearings set for Schenectady police officers
Friday, August 21, 2009
By Kathleen Moore (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — Officer Darren Lawrence will get another two months of pay before he faces termination from the police force.
Lawrence, who has been accused of driving drunk and misbehaving in a city bar while off-duty, will be the first of seven officers to face firing in disciplinary hearings run by arbitrator Jeff Selchick, according to the hearing dates that have now been set.
His hearing will begin on Oct. 16, nearly a year to the day since Lawrence was suspended on Oct. 25.
As of Thursday, he has been paid $53,666 to stay out of his police uniform since that incident. By the time his hearing begins, he will have made another $8,819, according to payroll records.
“It’s absolutely hideous,” said Mayor Brian U. Stratton, who believes that if the city gets legal authority to mete out discipline itself, officers could be disciplined within 30 to 90 days of an infraction.
“Had we been able to do that, this would have been resolved long ago,” Stratton said, adding that the officers are only paid because their contract says they must be.
“If it were up to me, they wouldn’t be paid while they’re out,” he said.
In total, the city has now spent $381,749 to keep seven officers out of their patrol cars while they await their disciplinary hearings. That’s much more than their base salaries — they also pulled $67,898 out of their overtime compensation banks, mostly to keep the money flowing while they were on their 30-day unpaid suspension..................>>>>........................>>>>............................http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/aug/21/0821_hearings/

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Lawrence, who has been accused of driving drunk and misbehaving in a city bar while off-duty, will be the first of seven officers to face firing in disciplinary hearings run by arbitrator Jeff Selchick

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Schenectady County corrections officer reinstated after racism allegation
Thursday, August 27, 2009
By Michael Lamendola (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY COUNTY — A Schenectady County corrections officer fired in March for allegedly using a racial slur that was overheard by another jail employee won his arbitration case and is back on the job, complete with back pay, county officials said.
Daniel DiBlasio returned to work Aug. 19 after an arbitrator with the state Public Employment Relations Board ruled in his favor, said County Attorney Chris Gardner.
“The arbitrator did not feel the proof was sufficient to sustain the charges,” Gardner said. “I believe our witness, who testified regarding the matter, told the truth.”
The arbitrator’s decision is binding.
DiBlasio, who joined the Sheriff’s Department on Jan. 15, 2007, is paid $39,699 annually. He will receive five months worth of back pay, minus any unemployment benefits he received, Gardner said..........>>>>................>>>>>..............http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2009/aug/27/0827_jailjob/

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Schenectady detective suspended
By: Web Staff


SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- A member of the Schenectady Police Department has found themselves on the wrong side of the law.

Schenectady Detective Sherri Barnes has been indicted on drug charges. She's accused of three counts of criminal diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions and one count of official misconduct. All those charges are misdemeanors.

Because of that indictment, she's been suspended for 30 days without pay. That suspension went into effect Wednesday. Barnes had already been on administrative leave after allegations of abusing prescription drugs surfaced back in January.

She was previously suspended for 30 days back on July 20.

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SCHENECTADY
New leader to air role of Police Review Board
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Kathleen Moore at 395-3120 or moore@dailygazette.com.

    The longtime leader of the Civilian Police Review Board has resigned, leaving the board without a head and in a state of confusion for more than a month.
    Recently, member Fred Lee took over, and now he’s planning a meeting to restart the board.
    Instead of discussing complaints against police, as the board normally does each month, Lee said he will table all business in favor of a discussion of the future of the board.
    First, he plans to ask every member whether they intend to resign soon. There are three new vacancies on the 10-member board now, and one other seat has been vacant for nearly two years.
    “Why have it happen a little at a time?” Lee said. “They have more than served their oath of office. If they want to go, they can go.”
    Then he plans to allow the debate that previous chairman A.C. “Budd” Mazurek always sidestepped in public: the question of whether the board should be given oversight authority rather than simply the power to comment on police policies.
    “Personally, I’m not so sure we need an oversight board,” Lee said. “But I want to throw that out to the group. We need to have that discussion. We’ve never had it before.”
    The debate will be offered because, Lee said, members continue to complain that they haven’t accomplished anything. ................>>>>..............>>>>............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00800&AppName=1

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SCHENECTADY
City to use statistics to fight crime Officials expecting results with NYC system
BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter

    Criminals beware: COMPSTAT is on the way.
    The crime-fighting system that forced New York City police leaders to develop quick and effective tactics — and demoted those who couldn’t stop crime in their precincts — is coming to Schenectady.
    Beginning in January, the city will pay $14,686 for a year of the Computer Statistics program. City Councilman Gary McCarthy, who announced the plan Monday, expects measurable results by July.
    “People should see changes,” he said, citing expectations for regular changes in patrols and faster response to complaints. “It’s a much more results-oriented program. By June-July we should see a signifi - cant payoff.”
    Other cities, including Newark, N.J., and Hartford, Conn., saw major improvement within a year of beginning COMPSTAT. In Hartford, crime fell 12.5 percent in 2006. Burglaries in particular fell dramatically, but the department struggled to control violent crime.
    However, after four years, the department reports some success: among all serious crimes, murder and aggravated assaults have increased — but every other crime has fallen 10 to 45 percent. Those crimes include rape, burglary, larceny and auto theft.
    Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett warned the City Council on Monday that he doesn’t plan to run COMPSTAT as aggressively as it was initiated in New York City.
    There, supervisors would create plans to quickly respond to spikes in crime, and would detail their plan to the COMPSTAT leadership. Three weeks later, Bennett said, undercover officers would secretly film each supervisor’s efforts and confront supervisors who had failed to make any progress.
    “Usually, it led to his removal,” Bennett said. “We don’t expect it to go that far. It’s not going to be designed to embarrass people — it is going to be designed to hold them accountable and make them think.”
    Efforts that fail won’t lead to a demotion, he said. But not trying to address a crime wave will.
    “We may have to move people around,” Bennett said, adding, “You cannot condemn them for trying, and at least making an attempt. If it comes down to a situation where we have an ineffective personnel assignment, we’ll change it.”
    Much of the program focuses on instant response to the slightest change in crime trends. Statistics determine not only whether a crime occurs more frequently, but precisely when and where it is most likely to happen.
    Supervisors, detectives and patrol officers will be expected to contribute ideas and, most importantly, intelligence. All of that will be used to create regular changes in tactics. ............>>>>..................>>>>............http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00901&AppName=1