Quoted Text

SCHENECTADY
Safety priority for food delivery
Attacks have businesses reviewing procedures with drivers
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Michael Lamendola at 395-3114 or lamend@dailygazette.com

    Recent attacks on people delivering food into neighborhoods has several businesses reviewing safety procedures with their drivers, and police advising caution.
    The most recent attack occurred Thursday night when a group of youths attacked a man delivering Chinese food in Yates Village. The youths, all wearing masks and hoods, confronted the 44-year-old driver from the Lucky Wok Chinese Restaurant at about 6 p.m.
    Several neighbors helped the man and the attackers fled, police said. The man was treated for injuries to his face and ribs.
    Police spokesman Lt. Brian Kilcullen said police are still investigating the incident and are unsure whether the youths were trying to rob the driver. “It looks like the robbery never took place, and it looks like there was an assault. We are investigating the incident to see what demands were made of the driver,” he said.
    He said police do not believe the youths targeted the driver because of his ethnicity. Police are also investigating whether the delivery man was lured to Yates Village.
    Last week, two gunmen robbed a Chinese food delivery man of cash, personal items and the food on McClellan Street, according to police. In this case, Kilcullen said the delivery went to a legitimate address but does not believe the resident was expecting the food. The delivery man “could have been lured,” he said.
    Kilcullen said the food delivery business is an easy target because, “unfortunately, it’s a cash business. It’s mostly a crime of opportunity, although we have had some incidents where they have been set up specifically for robbery.”
    Kilcullen issued some basic precautions. “We encourage food delivery services to use ‘Caller ID’ and to deliver strictly to residences and not to anonymous callers,” he said.
    Businesses also should take the time to obtain a land-line phone number and address from a caller who uses a cellphone, and to make sure both agree, Kilcullen said. “The extra work will insure the safety of the delivery person,” he said.
    Some food delivery businesses take additional safety precautions.
    Dave Rahimi, manager of Sicilian Pizzaria on VanVranken Avenue, said he tells his driver to leave the money at the store, to not enter a customer’s residence, even if invited, and to meet the customer in a neutral location if there is any concern about safety in the area.
    “We don’t want to put a driver in jeopardy,” Rahimi said. “Thank God, we haven’t got anything so far.”
    Tony Montesano, owner of Mama Rosa’s Pizzeria and Delivery in Clifton Park, tells his drivers never to go into dark alleys or around to the back of a house to make a delivery. In the six years he has operated his store, he has never had a driver attacked, he said.
AREAS OFF LIMITS
    Several business owners said they do not make deliveries into specific neighborhoods they consider unsafe. They refused to allow their names to be used, for fear of repercussions.
    The business owners identifi ed Hamilton Hill and Yates Village as unsafe areas. “I would not go into Hamilton Hill, especially at night,” a business owner said.
    One owner said “word gets around, no matter what” about which areas to avoid. The person said this is unfortunate because “it hurts the trustworthy people who don’t get the service.”
    Another owner said the business does not target people, only areas. “There are good customers everywhere. It’s not them, it’s the area. You never know who will attack the driver,” the owner said.
    Kilcullen refused to identify or classify areas in the city considered unsafe for food delivery. “We have got decent people throughout the city,” he said.
    He said a Chinese food delivery man, for example, was attacked in a low-crime residential area in September by youths not of the neighborhood, illustrating how the crime can be one of opportunity. Police arrested several youths days later and charged them with assault.
    The worst local incident in years occurred in November 2000 when three teenagers beat Hassan Noorzai, a pizza delivery man, to death after they placed a false food order to an apartment in Yates Village. The teens clubbed the Afghan immigrant to death with a baseball bat. The man was carrying $15 in his pocket.
Timothy A. Lewinski, 32, 135 Furman St., was charged on Dec. 2 with possession of marijuana. Bobbie Sue Lewinski, 26, Park Avenue, was charged on Dec. 2 with possession of marijuana. Lamont Outlar, 33, Willow Avenue, was charged on Dec. 2 with driving while intoxicated and aggravated unlicensed operation. Robert Outlar, 44, Willow Avenue, was charged on Dec. 2 with false personation.

Quoted Text

or perhaps cook your own'.

Quoted Text

Police complaints fall, but review board still isn’t out of business

    The Schenectady Civilian Police Review Board (SCPRB) has been in operation since 2003, with the dual mission of reviewing the Office of Professional Standards’ findings regarding complaints made by citizens and to help foster improved community and police relations within our city.
    Since our humble beginnings, the number of complaints made by citizens against the police department has steadily declined — including the more serious complaints such as police brutality, use of excessive force, etc.
    While this may be an indication that there have been improvements made within the department, SCPRB wishes to make sure that citizens with complaints know there are several avenues for submitting complaints and that assistance in completing the complaint packet is available through our special investigator.
Currently, citizens can register their complaints at the following locations: the Schenectady County Human Rights Commission, 612 State St., 388-4290; NAACP, 955 State St., 377-0522; City Hall, Jay Street, 382-5061 ; and the Police Department, Liberty and Lafayette streets, 382-5200. In addition, citizens can submit complaints through SCPRB’s special investigator, Robert Tufano at 488-8889. It is this board’s desire that the citizens of Schenectady have confidence that complaints are taken seriously by both the police department administration and the civilian police review board.
A.C. MAZUREK
Schenectady
The writer is chairman of the Schenectady Civilian Police Review Board.

Quoted Text

Sch’dy Police Department should tend to its sick

    I read in the Dec. 18 Gazette of a public health problem in the Schenectady Police Department, with large numbers of officers becoming afflicted with sudden illnesses. The police department should take the condition of such individuals seriously, and do all that it can to alleviate their plight.
    For example: The department could show its concern for those stricken with sickness by sending emergency medical technicians to their homes, along with nurses, to inquire as to the nature of their afflictions; to take their temperatures, listen to their hearts and lungs and advise them if they should be seeking additional medical attention. These visitors could be of further assistance by going to the drugstore and bringing back needed medications or doing other small errands so that the sick person need not go out in the cold.
    I believe a program of such visitations could do much to improve the state of health in the police department.
    ALMY D. COGGESHALL

Quoted Text

2 Schenectady cops suspended
Officers under investigation after suspect complained of beating during arrest

By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer  
First published: Thursday, December 27, 2007

SCHENECTADY -- Two city officers were suspended with pay late Wednesday for allegedly beating up a drunken driving suspect who may have sworn and verbally threatened one of them, Assistant Police Chief Mark Chaires said.
The investigation, in its early stages, stems from an encounter Donald L. Randolph had with police outside the McDonald's restaurant at 1673 Union St.
       
According to a police incident report, an unruly Randolph was intoxicated and yelling outside the restaurant drive-through window when police arrived just before 2 a.m. Dec. 7.
The document says the 37-year-old Pattersonville man hopped out of an older-model blue Ford Ranger pickup truck, cursed at Patrolman Andrew Karaskiewicz and shouted at him to mind his own business.
Chaires refused to identify the two officers, or three others said to have been on the scene.
But late Wednesday, another official -- also on the condition of anonymity -- said Karaskiewicz and Officer Eric Reyell were suspended earlier in the day.
The same official also familiar with the internal probe confirmed that Karaskiewicz and Reyell, along with officers Daryl Mallard and Gregory Hafensteiner, were being investigated for their roles in the alleged beating. The name of the fifth officer is unknown.
A police report of the incident shows that Karaskiewicz wrote in his report that he saw an open beer bottle in the vehicle and that Randolph then told him: "I'll take care of you when you get off work."
It is unclear whether the alleged beating took place in the McDonald's parking lot or at another location. But when Randolph was admitted to the Schenectady County jail around 1 p.m. Dec. 7, a written report from the Schenectady County sheriff's office indicates the left side of his face and head were swollen and he had a bruised right wrist.
His jail admission report under the category "How did injury(s) occur" says "states police delivered injuries." The report is accompanied by photos of the face and wrist of the heavily tattooed suspect.
Randolph, who is 5 feet 9 and weighs 152 pounds, is charged with felony driving while intoxicated, aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle and second-degree harassment, a violation.
The police report also notes that his license was revoked in November after he was convicted in September of driving while intoxicated in Saratoga County. The report also states that he has a total of four license suspensions for other offenses.
Randolph's attorney, public defender Paul Callahan, said his client is scheduled to appear in Princetown Town Court today a traffic-related hearing for allegedly refusing to take a Breathalyzer test. It was not immediately clear if that court appearance is related to his arrest in Schenectady.
Standing outside his Florida Road home, Randolph -- who is free on bail -- said Monday that Callahan had advised him not to talk to the media. His face bore no obvious signs of injuries or bruises.
Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney declined to say whether his office is looking into the matter.
Chaires emphasized against jumping to any conclusions since it's still so early in the investigation.
"It's part of the process pursuant to the investigation so people should reserve judgment until the investigation is concluded," Chaires said of the two suspensions late Wednesday.He said the probe is being handled by the Office of Professional Standards. "We are in contact with the complainant," he added.
If the allegations turn out to be true, the officers could face disciplinary action ranging from suspension to criminal prosecution.
Randolph has an extensive criminal record that dates back in Schenectady County to June 1993.
He served time in state prison during the early 1990s for burglary and robbery convictions before being paroled, according to New York Department of Correctional Services records.
Callahan said Wednesday that Randolph has told him he wasn't behind the wheel of the pickup and that he had been roughed up by several officers. He said he would need to talk with witnesses and then have investigators from the public defender's office look into the beating allegations. He said he had no knowledge of the police department's internal probe.
These latest allegations and probe come with the department already coping with a county grand jury report that chided the department for lax oversight that made the system ripe for police misconduct and abuse.
The report came in response to a missing narcotics evidence scandal earlier this year that brought down respected veteran vice squad officer Jeffrey Curtis now imprisoned for stealing drugs to feed his own addiction.
Within the past five years, seven city police officers have been arrested. Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.

Quoted Text

3 more Schenectady cops suspended (updated with names and police documents)
December 28, 2007
Updated 4:55 p.m.
By Steven Cook (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — Three more city police officers are expected to be suspended today as a result of excessive force allegations involving the arrest of an alleged drunken driver earlier this month.
City police spokesman Lt. Brian Kilcullen said Kevin Derkovski, Daryl Mallard and Gregory Hafensteiner join fellow officers Andrew Karaskiewicz and Eric Reyell on suspension with pay as police look into the events surrounding the 2 a.m. Dec. 7 arrest of Donald L. Randolph. Randolph, 37, of Pattersonville, was accused of felony driving while intoxicated and threatening officers in the parking lot of the McDonald’s on Union Street, according to papers filed in court.
In their own words
To view the incident report filed by police (includes objectionable language), click here. To view the admissions report filed at the Schenectady County jail, click here.
Randolph’s relatives filed a formal complaint in the days after the arrest, claiming police used excessive force. They alleged that a half-dozen officers beat Randolph while arresting him. During a lull in the alleged struggle, Randolph removed a cellphone from his pocket and got off a speed-dial call to his girlfriend, who heard him screaming for help, they said.
Randolph arrived at the Schenectady County Jail with swelling on the side of his face and a bruised right wrist, according to an injury report taken at the facility. He told corrections officers the injuries were delivered by police and cited a McDonald’s employee as a witness.
Randolph appeared in court days later with an apparent bruise on his cheek. He was soon after released on his own recognizance.

Quoted from Shadow

That's five cops suspended and heavens knows how many out sick, do we have any police protection at all?

Quoted from Shadow

Some of us travel thru the city and we don't want to get mugged.

Quoted from 16

Just remember, this is Schenectady, not Rotterdam.  We'll be fine as long as ours on't call in sick or get called to the city for backup.

Quoted Text

Get to the bottom of latest Schenectady police mess fast

    One can’t help but read stories about Schenectady police like the one in yesterday’s paper and think something along the lines of “there they go again.”
    The department’s reputation has been so tarnished over the years by, among other things, stories of cops beating up not-so-innocent or even innocent civilians, that when a fresh allegation comes along, it’s hard not to give at least some benefit of the doubt to the defendant — even when, as in this case, the defendant is a pretty bad actor himself. It’s probably just as true, for the same reason, that no matter how much effort city (or county) officials make to sort out the facts and determine what happened here, there will be people who won’t believe that police didn’t misbehave or overreact — if that is indeed the ultimate determination.
    That said, it’s still vitally important that department leaders, the mayor and district attorney — all of whom have properly gotten involved in this case — investigate the claims as thoroughly and as quickly as possible, and take appropriate action against any officers who might have used excessive force in placing Donald Randolph under arrest — or even stood by and watched as other officers did.
    That all five of the cops involved in the Dec. 7 incident have now been suspended is a good indication that Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett isn’t adopting a “business-as-usual” approach here; and Mayor Brian Stratton said yesterday he’ll seek the dismissal of any cops who were involved in the alleged beating or even the attempt to cover it up. While that’s welcome news, one can’t help but wonder, at the same time, why it took them three weeks to act. Would they have done so as decisively if news of the incident hadn’t surfaced?
    A jury should not be concerned with this defendant’s prior record — that he has a long criminal history, had his license suspended four times, and as recently as a few weeks before the current incident was arrested for driving without a license. In fact, these details will probably not even be known to the jury. Nor should they influence the public’s view of what may or may not have happened, but it’s inevitable that they will.
    On the other hand, there’s the long history of the Schenectady Police Department with such incidents. So it’s best not to assume anything. And all the more reason for city officials and the district attorney to get to the bottom of what really happened, and to act accordingly without additional delay.

Quoted Text

Police suspensions now number 5
Family’s complaint alleges excessive force used in arrest
The three officers were identified by police as Darryl Mallard, Kevin Derkowski and Gregory Hafenstein-
BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter

    Three more Schenectady police offi - cers — including one who was praised as a rookie for his restraint — were suspended with pay Friday in a growing internal investigation into allegations of use of excessive force during the arrest of a felony DWI suspect.
er. They join officers Andrew Karaskiewicz and Eric Reyell on the administrative leave list.
    The suspensions with pay are the largest disciplinary actions against police officers in memory related to a single incident.
    Karaskiewicz was the arresting officer who charged Pattersonville resident Donald Randolph early on the morning of Dec. 7 in the parking lot of the Union Street McDonald’s. Authorities have not identified what role the others might have played.
    Randolph is charged with felony aggravated unlicensed operation, felony driving while intoxicated and violation harassment.
    Randolph’s family filed a formal complaint with the police department, alleging excessive force. The investigation into that complaint led to this week’s suspensions, officials said earlier.
    “We are taking it very seriously,” Assistant Chief Mark Chaires said late Friday afternoon. “Based on the investigation, we just felt it an appropriate and prudent thing to do to take them off-line and not have them working.”
    Chaires, however, again cautioned that the suspensions, termed administrative leave, are part of the investigative process and not the final disposition.
    Chaires also declined to say what, if any, recordings were made of the incident that led to the complaint. Schenectady police patrol cars are routinely outfitted with cameras and officers with microphones. The restaurant also may have surveillance.
    Randolph’s family alleged that a half-dozen officers beat Randolph while arresting him. During a lull in the incident, Randolph removed a cellphone from his pocket and got off a speed-dial call to his girlfriend, who heard him screaming for help, they said.
    Randolph’s attorney, Paul Callahan, has claimed that while Randolph was charged with driving offenses, he wasn’t behind the wheel. Another person was, and that person fled. That claim, Callahan said, is bolstered by a drive-through McDonald’s worker.
ARREST RECORD
    Records show Randolph was imprisoned twice in the 1990s on burglary and robbery convictions. He was arrested by the Schenectady County Sheriff’s Department on a misdemeanor aggravated unlicensed operation charge three weeks prior to the incident under review.
    Randolph arrived at the Schenectady County Jail on Dec. 7 with a swelling on the side of his face and a bruised right wrist, according to an injury report taken at the facility. He told corrections officers the injuries were delivered by police and cited the McDonald’s employee as a witness.
    Sheriff’s department booking photos appear to show a red mark above Randolph’s forehead.
    Randolph ultimately spent more than five days in jail before being released on his own recognizance.
    Schenectady County District Attorney Robert Carney reiterated Friday that his office is working with the police department on the case. Carney, however, declined to call that involvement a criminal investigation.
    “The very fact that we’re involved means that it’s more than internal affairs,” Carney said. “But I don’t want to characterize that investigation.”
    Carney was unsure if any of the suspended officers would be needed as witnesses in criminal cases. If any are, his position would be that they would be called to testify.
OFFICERS NOTIFIED
    Derkowski, Mallard and Hafensteiner were each notified of the suspensions Friday afternoon, offi - cials said. Mallard and Hafensteiner were hired in July 2003, Derkowski in January 2006.
    Police union President Lt. Robert Hamilton noted Friday that there was little the union could do about the suspensions. All of the officers are out with pay. He also noted that none of the five have been brought up on charges.
    “They have not been asked for any type of information,” Hamilton said. “They are simply looking forward to having a conversation, at least, with the higher-ups to talk about the allegations.”
    “No information has been requested of them. They have not had an opportunity to explain their side of the story.”
    Of the five suspended, four have received commendations for their work. The fifth, Derkowski, has been injured on the job.
    Mallard, whose first name has also been spelled Daryl, was commended in September 2003 while still a rookie for his restraint in confronting a man apparently intent on being shot by an officer. He did not fire and the incident ended peacefully.
    Hafensteiner was given the department’s exceptional duty award with another officer in connection with a Nov. 7, 2004, suicide on the Hulett Street Bridge over Interstate 890. Hafensteiner and the other officer climbed to the top of the fence and grabbed the man by his hands.
    Six other officers, including Karaskiewicz, received commendation awards for the incident. The rescue attempt, however, failed as the man flailed his legs and fell to his death.
    Derkowski spent nine hours at Albany Medical Center in October after chasing a car theft suspect. He fell 15 feet onto his head. Derkowski spotted the car after it had been described at roll call earlier.
    Mayor Brian U. Stratton reiterated Friday that if the allegations prove true, they would be grounds for dismissal.
    He noted that the mass suspension is likely unprecedented from one incident.
    It will also create a strain on a police force that was already considered understaffed.
    “This sends a message that we’re moving very quickly and very strongly,” Stratton said.
    “But it’s not just making an example,” he added later. “It’s running this department in a very thorough and professional manner with the highest level of discipline possible.”