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City to oppose police oversight bill
Proposal would give arbitrator final decision in disciplinary matters

By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, April 8, 2008

SCHENECTADY -- The City Council on Monday night agreed to oppose a state bill that would take away Public Safety Commissioner Wayne Bennett's oversight of police discipline.
The move against the bill, which is awaiting a vote in the Assembly, came as the council expected to hear local legislators' opinions on the proposal.
     
But Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, Assemblyman George Amedore and state Sen. Hugh Farley did not appear as scheduled before the City Council public safety committee Monday night. All cited ongoing budget negotiations for their absences.
However, Mayor Brian U. Stratton said Amedore and Tedisco will not vote for the bill. Farley already voted for it when the Senate passed it.
The bill would require cities of a designated size, such as Schenectady, to send police disciplinary matters to an arbitrator for a final decision if a settlement cannot be negotiated.
Schenectady began doing things differently last year after a court ruling in a New York City case said cities can revert back to their original charters, which allow for local oversight of police discipline.
The city's resolution, which still must be drafted, will be voted on at a later date.
Also at Monday night's meeting, representatives from two taxi companies requested a $1 gasoline surcharge for all fares in Schenectady to cover rising gas costs.
City Council members asked why the companies aren't seeking an increase in overall fares. Gary Valenti of White and Blue taxi company in Schenectady said a fare change would cost $50 to recalibrate each of his taxis' meters.
Council member Denise Brucker asked the companies to return later with a written proposal that would include both a gas surcharge and rate increase proposal. Taxi companies in Schenectady had their last rate increase in 2001.

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Gunplay on rise in Schenectady
First published: Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Here's a little more detail about a recent Schenectady drive-by shooting that produced a single bullet hole in a Congress Street house.
     
Michele Schettino, an assistant district attorney, and Gary McCarthy, a DA's investigator, were in the line of fire just before the shooting.
"We were standing in front of the house a couple minutes before the shot was fired," recalled McCarthy, also a Schenectady City Council member. He and Schettino were attempting to locate a witness in an unrelated case.
"We decided to do our waiting in the car. We were about 150 feet away from the house when somebody shot from a passing car," McCarthy said.
He called police to report the plate number, a move resulting in the arrest of three suspects within minutes.
When I mentioned the incident to Lt. Brian Kilcullen, he said police are concerned over 26 confirmed reports of gunfire in March alone. "That's just short of one a day last month, which isn't good," Kilcullen said.
Last week, a couple of yahoos fired several shots across Crane Street into a hill opposite St. Adalbert's Church. All told, there were 45 reports of shots fired in the first quarter. Yipes!
No contest? Democratic City Court Judge Vince Versaci, running for re-election in November, looks like he will get a free ride.
Republican County Chairman Tom Buchanan and Mike Brockbank, city GOP chairman, both said they don't have a candidate. "We have a month or so to come up with somebody," Brockbank said.
He said finding a candidate is difficult because many GOP lawyers have moved to the suburbs, making them ineligible to run for the $108,800 job.
Also, it has become next to impossible lately for a Republican to win any office in the city of Schenectady.
Versaci and fellow City Court judges Christine Clark and Guido Loyola are all Democrats. Versaci defeated Republican Brian Ferrucci in '02, when the position was a quarter-time job. In '04, the job became full-time.
"If I have an opponent, I'll campaign hard like I did in 2002," Versaci said. "Schenectady Democrats are fierce campaigners who start going door-to-door as soon as the snow melts."

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Shooting wounds one in Schenectady
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
By Steven Cook (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

SCHENECTADY — One man was taken to Albany Medical Center with a gunshot wound to his stomach at about 6 p.m. on Bridge Street, police said.
The man was unconscious when police arrived, police spokesman Officer Kevin Green said. He was alive as of 8 p.m., Green said.
The incident happened in an alley next to 816 Bridge St.
“We got a call from a neighbor in the area who heard people screaming and gunshots,” Green said.
Police arrived to find the man in the alley and his assailants gone. Shell casings were found in the street.
Witnesses reported one man fleeing, but had only a vague description. Police radio traffic indicated it was a black man wearing black pants and possibly a white T-shirt, and wearing a mask.
On scene, evidence technicians marked the casings and other possible evidence. Attention appeared focused near a white Hyundai, with an evidence tag 9 nearby. One evidence technician could be seen looking under the car.
Police taped off the better part of a block, with the sidewalk open on one side, but blocked on the other.
Several people appeared blocked in the home next to the alley. Police prevented them from leaving because the front yard was the crime scene.
The shooting is the latest in a series of incidents in the winter and early spring. It also follows a shooting at Bridge Street and Francis Avenue March 30 that injured two.

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SCHENECTADY
Police defend patrol policy Beating victim says department didn’t do enough
BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter

    City police on Tuesday defended their patrol coverage of Hamilton Hill against claims by a man who said they did not do enough to prevent his being savagely beaten by youths early Monday.
    Assistant Police Chief Jack Falvo said police had one car with two officers assigned to patrol Hamilton Hill and downtown from midnight to 8 a.m. Monday. At the time that Anthony Ackerman Sr., 35, of 225 Nott Terrace, was assaulted, the offi cers were handling a traffic stop at Erie Boulevard and Interstate 890.
    Another patrol car was first on scene at the beating incident.
    “It is part of their zone, because it overlaps,” Falvo said. “They were there on their own initiative, doing proactive policing. We encourage officers to practice proactive policing, to drive around and investigate circumstances that pique their curiosity.”
    Falvo said the department has a minimum of two officers in one car on every shift and does overlap as well. For example, the car that patrols central State Street midnight to 8 a.m. Monday also helps in Woodlawn and Hamilton Hill, he said. Officers can also call upon patrol cars not assigned to zones for help.
    This is the department’s standard staffing coverage for the midnight to 8 a.m. shift, said Officer Kevin Green, department spokesman. “Sunday night is not one of our busiest nights. If there are extra people available, we will assign another car to the zones,” he said.
    The department steps up staffing for the other two shifts, dedicating a car to Hamilton Hill specifically, police said. Mayor Brian U. Stratton Tuesday said he would prefer to see a car dedicated to the Hill on every shift and plans to look into the issue further to learn why the zone is shared on the overnight shift.
    Falvo said police responded to the assault on Ackerman within two minutes of receiving the 911 call. He said a resident witnessed the assault and called at 1:49 a.m. The dispatcher alerted the first car to the scene at 1:50 a.m.; it arrived at 1:52 a.m., he said.
    At least five other patrol cars appeared shortly thereafter.
    City Councilman Gary McCarthy called the response time good, although he said two minutes is better.
    “At Code 3, you can move a car across the city in three minutes,” McCarthy said. “You always want police there when it happens, but overall it is good.”
    Ackerman said he plans to sue the city for negligence, alleging police knew there was gang activity in the neighborhood. He said police responded to a 911 call in the same general area four hours before his attack from a person stating he had been attacked by youths. Police never found the fi rst victim, nor any of the youths.
    “It’s not the money, it’s the principal. Officers need to do their jobs, and the city needs to stop catering to the police union,” Ackerman said.
    City Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden said the city would challenge Ackerman’s claim, saying law enforcement and fire departments are shielded from liability in performing their duties.
    Ackerman was attacked on Paige Street at about 1:30 a.m. Monday as he walked home from his job at the Rotterdam Wal-Mart. Police found him unconscious on Summit Avenue, about two blocks away from the initial attack location. They were unable to find the youths. The beating left the lanky Ackerman with a broken nose, 16 stitches in his scalp, blood in his eyes, memory loss and ringing in his right ear.
NO WARNING
    Ackerman said he was beaten for at least 20 minutes, although he isn’t certain. “One of them sucker-punched me, and I can’t remember anything after that,” he said. The youths never said a word to him, he said.
    Falvo said police are unable to determine how long the assault lasted. He said the earlier 911 call came in at 10:07 p.m. Two cars were dispatched at 10:13 p.m. and arrived at Jerry Burrell Park at 10:19 p.m., he said.
    “We can’t connect the two assaults. In the first assault, the victim refused to remain on scene, so we couldn’t confirm the assault,” Falvo said. “The dispatcher tried to call him back, but he wouldn’t answer the phone.”
    Falvo said there were no prior reports of gang activity in the neighborhood. Hence there was no need to beef up patrols. “We cannot predict when crime will occur, but we do have an idea,” he said.
    City police use crime statistics to “drive our activity and our staffing and on where we focus on in the community,” Falvo said. “In actuality, we are assessing our staffing levels and will be increasing them.”
    Green said there are known gangs in city. “Whether that was an actual gang or a group of unruly teens, who knows?” he said.
    Green said the schools are on break this week, which could explain why the youths were out late. He added parents should know where their children are at night and take responsibility.
    McCarthy said he hopes the added attention to the incident will prompt someone to come forward with information on the youths. “It is a tragic situation, but it is the randomness of policing. They can’t always be in the right place at the right time,” he said.
    As for Ackerman, he said he still has nightmares about the assault and has difficulty sleeping. “I still see fists hitting my face. Every little sound frightens me, and I am afraid to go out at night,” he said.
    Ackerman said he has walked the same 45-minute route from Wal-Mart to his home each day for a year and never had a problem. He works the 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. shift unloading trucks. He has a license but does not drive because, he said, “I don’t want to pay for gas.”
    Hours after he was assaulted, Ackerman Monday night appeared before the City Council, split lip, swollen eyes and all, to make a point, he said. “I wanted them to know how a victim feels. I’m tired of these politicians having no heart for anyone but property owners. They should represent everyone, not just property owners,” he said.
    Ackerman calls himself a “decent, hard-working person” who has lived in the city for 27 years. “I never had any problems before, none whatsoever,” he said. “People are afraid about the crime in the city.”

ANA N. ZANGRONIZ/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Anthony Ackerman Sr. is seen in front of his Schenectady home on Tuesday.

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Lawyer calls police search unlawful
Issue is whether drug evidence in Schenectady case can be suppressed

By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer  
First published: Wednesday, April 16, 2008

SCHENECTADY -- In a case that spotlights police searches, the lawyer for a city man has asked that drug evidence against his client be suppressed, as it was for the man's co-defendant.
Attorney Brian Mercy said he made the request to Schenectady County Court Judge Karen Drago after she affirmed a judicial hearing officer's ruling that police conducted an unlawful search last year of the vehicle his client and another man were in.
     
"If it was a bad search, it's a bad search for everyone in the vehicle and anything after the stop pertains to everyone in the vehicle," said Mercy.
He is representing Troy Washington, 22, who was behind the wheel of an Acura sedan in August when a state trooper and city officer pulled him over on Hamilton Street, saying he was talking on a cellphone.
Washington's cousin, Damien Devone of Brooklyn, was a passenger.
Washington didn't have a license or registration and gave Trooper Matthew Wheeler an inaudible answer about where he was going, court papers state. At the same time, Wheeler's partner, Schenectady officer Laurence Borwhat, was quizzing Devone, 25.
The officers found "suspicious inconsistencies with how they were acting," according to Wheeler's testimony at the Devone hearing before retired Judge Philip A. Berke in January.
By now, the officers had determined the car was not stolen and that Washington had a valid driver's license. Devone presented identification to Borwhat.
The police then brought in Wheeler's police dog, who, after sniffing outside the car, was taken inside. He led officers to what turned out to be cocaine in the console between the front seats, court documents state.
Berke concluded the traffic stop was lawful, but the police dog search and drug seizure were "warrantless." His recommendation was upheld by Drago.
Devone's public defender, Kent Gebert, who convinced Berke to throw out the drug evidence, cheered the ruling. "There was no indication of any criminality on the part of Mr. Devone or Mr. Washington, and therefore the search was illegal," he said.
The district attorney's office has promised an appeal of Devone's ruling and was preparing for Washington's hearing on Thursday.
District Attorney Robert Carney said once the dog "hit on the odor," that provided reasonable cause for the search and that no warrant was needed. He also said there was no delay since the dog was already on the scene.
Laurie Shanks, an Albany Law School clinical law professor, disagrees with his assessment.
"Police officers cannot use a hunch ... to justify a violation of the Constitution," said Shanks. "This case demonstrates that police officers, even those interested in finding illegal drugs, must comply with state and federal constitutions, otherwise, innocent people as well as those who might have illegal substances are at risk of being detained and searched for no reason."
The cousins are being held at the county jail on second- and third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance charges.
Paul Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.

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Man wounded in Schenectady
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
By Michael Goot (Contact)
Gazette Reporter

One man was injured in a shooting on Jefferson Street this afternoon.
The victim was hit in the leg and taken by ambulance to Albany Medical Center; no identity or condition information was available immediately.
Police received the call at 4:51 p.m. reporting a burglary in progress at 309 Front St.
Gunfire was heard as officers approached to investigate. Police shortly after captured two suspects in the vicinity, according to spokesman Kevin Green. A third suspect ran into an alley to the left of a building at 16 Jefferson St. and was captured.
Police blocked off Jefferson Street from Madison Street to Front Street while officers processed the scene. The area is near Boulevard Bowl off Erie Boulevard.

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EDITORIALS
Where were Sch’dy cops early Monday?

    Schenectady police can’t be everywhere at all times when they’re patrolling the city, but common sense dictates that, first and foremost, they should keep the areas of highest crime covered. That didn’t happen early Monday morning, when a gang of unruly youths savagely assaulted a man walking home from work by way of Hamilton Hill.
    That neighborhood is unquestionably the city’s worst for crime — has been for decades — and it is shocking that the police department doesn’t always assign a car to patrol it exclusively during the midnight-to-8 a.m. shift. What it does do, or at least what it was doing Monday morning, is combine the Hill/Vale and downtown zones. So when a group of some 30 kids was beating the tar out of Anthony Ackerman Sr., who was walking home from Wal-Mart just before 2 o’clock in the morning, the car assigned to patrol from Hamilton Hill all the way downtown was engaged in a traffic stop at one of the farthest reaches of downtown, the junction of Erie Boulevard and I-890.
    When someone on the Hill finally had the decency to call the cops on Ackerman’s behalf, it took only a few minutes for a car — the roving K-9 unit — to respond. But by then, the kids had dispersed and subsequent efforts to locate them by four other patrol units were unsuccessful.
    Ackerman — who suffered a broken nose, needed 16 stitches in his scalp, has blood in his eyes and says he has memory loss and ringing in one ear — is threatening to sue the city. He probably won’t get very far, but his ire is understandable. Given The Hill’s reputation for crime, borne out by years of anecdote and statistics, there should always be a police car patrolling its streets. Had there been one Monday morning, its occupants might have seen the group and dispersed it before the trouble began.
    Overnights on The Hill might have been quiet recently, but this was school vacation week. And the fact that there was a call for a similar attack just a few hours earlier in nearby Jerry Burrell Park should have been a tip-off that this midnight shift might have been a bit busier.
    Schenectady’s police force has been shortstaffed for years. It also suffers from attendance problems because of the generous allotment of sick time the officers get. But that wasn’t the problem on this shift: Including the supervisor, there were eight cars on the street.
    The problem was that somehow, there was no car in the city’s most troubled neighborhood when one was obviously needed. Police offi - cials and Mayor Brian Stratton need to evaluate their deployment strategy and make sure that this doesn’t happen again.

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SCHENECTADY
Police investigating after man shot
BY MICHAEL GOOT Gazette Reporter

    One man was in Albany Medical Center following a shooting on Jefferson Street on Wednesday afternoon.
    Police received a call at 4:51 p.m. reporting a burglary in progress at 309 Front St. Officers responded to the area and captured two suspects in the vicinity, according to spokesman Kevin Green. A third suspect ran into an alley to the left of a building at 16 Jefferson St. Officers heard a shot and approached the area cautiously. They then found a man who had been shot in the lower leg. He was transported by ambulance to Albany Medical Center.
    Green said the man’s wounds did not appear to be life threatening.
    “We don’t know how he was shot, if it was accidental or if he was shot by someone else,” Green said.
    Mike Zorn of 301 Front St. said he saw three men attempting to get into the rear of an apartment complex next door. One attempted to break the door, while the other two were watching the area. “It takes a lot of nerve to do that in broad daylight,” he said.
    Zorn alerted authorities. All three men scattered when police began to arrive.
    Green said one suspect was picked up near Front and Jefferson Street, the second near Front and John Street, and the third ran into the alley. A handgun was recovered near the wounded man.
    Police blocked off Jefferson Street from Madison Street to Front Street while officers checked the area. District Attorney Robert Carney was also present.
    Authorities have not released the identities of the suspects. Green said police are still talking to the two suspects and would go to the hospital to talk to the third. He did not anticipate more information until this morning.
    Gerald Plante, who lives at 227 Front St., said the neighborhood has been trying to do something about vacant buildings that attract squatters and other undesirables. “It’s getting too close to home,” he said.
    “It’s even during the day we get different types.”
    Plante said two city officials just took a tour of the district to look at the problems. He even fenced off his driveway because of the problems.

PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER
With guns drawn, Schenectady police officers secure a perimeter around a house on Jefferson Street after a shooting on Wednesday.

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2 charged in Stockade break-in

By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer
Thursday, April 17, 2008

SCHENECTADY - Police have charged two men with burglarizing a Stockade home Wednesday afternoon in an incident that led to another burglary suspect being shot in the leg, police said.
     
Schenectady police officer Kevin Green said Jermel Hawkins, 31, of Schenectady, and Jerome D. Jordan, 28, of Schenectady, have been charged with second-degree burglary in connection with the alleged break-in at a home in the 300 block of Front Street at 4:50 p.m. Wednesday. Hawkins was also charged with resisting arrest.
Police said they responded to the scene and saw three men running away. One suspect was apprehended on Front Street at Jefferson Street, and another was caught at John Street. A third man fled down Jefferson and tried to enter the backyard of an abandoned house.
That third man, who Green would not identify Thursday, was found on the ground with a handgun next to him and a shot to the lower leg. The suspect was taken to Albany Medical Center hospital for his injuries. No charges have yet been filed against the third suspect.
Hawkins was sent to the Schenectady County Jail without bail, and Jordan was sent to jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bail.

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Sch’dy police must give ‘The Hill’ the attention it deserves

    Re the April 15 article “Police absent during attack — Man says he was beaten by gang”: Let me start off by telling Mr. Anthony Ackerman Sr. that my heart goes out to him concerning the terrible beating he received from a group of “punks,” who wait until nighttime to come out to do their dirty work. They, along with a lot of people in this community, know that we rarely see the police department patrolling here.
    My family and friends were cooking out April 12, and we witnessed a Caucasian couple get attacked by a gang (probably the same ones.) Everyone did a lot of yelling at them, and they finally took off running. The police were called and almost an hour later they rode through. Do you think the group of kids were going to hang around waiting, and do you think the couple wanted to wait around all that time taking the chance of getting jumped again?
    Since Hamilton Hill is such a “crimeinfested” area, where are these offi cers who took the oath to serve and protect? If they are so dedicated as the article stated, how is it a person rarely sees them patrolling until something serious happens? I believe if the police department was more consistent with patrolling, there might be less crime around here.
    I’m so tired of hearing “we don’t have the manpower” or “we can’t be everywhere at the same time.” The solution to those problems is to hire more offi - cers and take patrol cars out of the quiet areas and send them to The Hill. If the police were patrolling by Jerry Burell Park and chasing kids out of there after dark and breaking up crowds like they used to, a person would see a lot less crime activity going on in this area.
    If you want my opinion, I believe the police department just doesn’t care for our community of Hamilton Hill, and have us all “stereotyped,” even though most of the residents are hard-working citizens who want to be able to walk to a store, walk home from work or even sit on their porches without being bullied.
    Something tells me, if the police department doesn’t get on the ball, it’s going to be a long, bad summer.
    BETTY BROOKS
    Schenectady

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Ruling frees Schenectady man

By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer
Friday, April 18, 2008

SCHENECTADY - Troy Washington broke down and cried Thursday inside a Schenectady County courtroom after a judge told him he was a free man.
     
The city resident had been in county jail on drug charges since August after police stopped him and conducted what judicial hearing officer Philip Berke, a retired judge, later determined was an illegal vehicle search.
That decision applied to Damien Devone, 25, of Brooklyn, a passenger in Washington's vehicle when it was stopped on Hamilton Street. Berke decided Thursday to apply that ruling in Washington's case and his decision was affirmed by Schenectady County County Judge Karen Drago, said Washington's lawyer, Brian Mercy.
Assistant District Attorney Peter Willis, who handled the case, did not return calls Thursday seeking comment. Willis said he has indicated he planned to appeal the two decisions. The 22-year-old Washington will stay with his mother.
His ordeal began just before 9 p.m. last August when he and Devone were stopped by two officers assigned to a special crime unit detail because Washington was talking on his cell phone while driving.
The state trooper and city police officer eventually ordered the duo out of the Acura sedan and had a police dog already on the scene search the car after they decided the pair were acting suspicious.
At the time of the stop, Washington didn't have his driver's license or registration for the car, which didn't belong to him.
The police dog led officers to what turned out to be cocaine in the console between the front seats, court documents state. The men were charged with third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and held at Schenectady County Jail.
Devone's public defender Kent Gebert successfully argued the case and the charges were dismissed, though he is being held on a parole violation, Gebert said.
Berke concluded the traffic stop was lawful, but the police dog search and drug seizure were "warrantless." His recommendation was upheld by Drago.

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Sch’dy police must give ‘The Hill’ the attention it deserves

    Re the April 15 article “Police absent during attack — Man says he was beaten by gang”: Let me start off by telling Mr. Anthony Ackerman Sr. that my heart goes out to him concerning the terrible beating he received from a group of “punks,” who wait until nighttime to come out to do their dirty work. They, along with a lot of people in this community, know that we rarely see the police department patrolling here.
    My family and friends were cooking out April 12, and we witnessed a Caucasian couple get attacked by a gang (probably the same ones.) Everyone did a lot of yelling at them, and they finally took off running. The police were called and almost an hour later they rode through. Do you think the group of kids were going to hang around waiting, and do you think the couple wanted to wait around all that time taking the chance of getting jumped again?
    Since Hamilton Hill is such a “crimeinfested” area, where are these offi cers who took the oath to serve and protect? If they are so dedicated as the article stated, how is it a person rarely sees them patrolling until something serious happens? I believe if the police department was more consistent with patrolling, there might be less crime around here.
    I’m so tired of hearing “we don’t have the manpower” or “we can’t be everywhere at the same time.” The solution to those problems is to hire more offi - cers and take patrol cars out of the quiet areas and send them to The Hill. If the police were patrolling by Jerry Burell Park and chasing kids out of there after dark and breaking up crowds like they used to, a person would see a lot less crime activity going on in this area.
    If you want my opinion, I believe the police department just doesn’t care for our community of Hamilton Hill, and have us all “stereotyped,” even though most of the residents are hard-working citizens who want to be able to walk to a store, walk home from work or even sit on their porches without being bullied.
    Something tells me, if the police department doesn’t get on the ball, it’s going to be a long, bad summer.
    BETTY BROOKS
    Schenectady