I was totally shocked on Sept. 24 when I found out that a Schenectady police officer shot my nephew’s dog right in front of his house across from Central Park Middle School, because he had gotten loose from his yard for a minute and then growled at the offi cer. This was done where all could see. Do the police understand how many people were traumatized by this? Bad enough for the family, but what about all of the neighborhood children and children that walk on Elm Street, going to and from school? Zeus was a Rottweiler, but this dog was the biggest baby you could imagine. All he ever did was play with everyone and was never a “bad dog.” There are so many bad things happening in the city and they have to be out shooting an innocent dog! We can tell where their priorities are; look at what has been happening in Schenectady! L.A. MYERS Clifton Park Editor’s Note: Schenectady police say that on the morning in question, they received two calls for an “aggressive ... vicious” dog on the Central Park Middle School playground, indicating the dog was loose, “going after” people, and had grabbed someone by the shoe and wouldn’t let go.
Let’s not forget all the good Jeff Curtis did as a Schenectady cop
On behalf of Jeff Curtis and his family, I would like to extend sincerest apologies to the members of the Schenectady Police Department, to all police officers and to the citizens of Schenectady. You should know that Jeff feels the deepest possible sense of guilt, humiliation and regret for letting these people down. He’s tortured minute by minute for what he’s done, and for things he was accused of — not because of the end result that directly affects him, but for the negative effects this had on his family, friends, and fellow officers. You should know that Jeff, for more than 20 years, had been the quintessential bastion of honesty and integrity. His career was filled with accolades, awards and recognition. His was the type of career only the very few and very special can achieve. Above all, it was unblemished. You should know, too, that this path to success was fraught with danger that most of us can’t imagine. Through his actions, dozens of lives were saved, hundreds of lives positively affected; thousands of people gained a sense of security without knowing it. Such is the lot of a police officer; acts of bravery and courage, typical in the line of duty, go unrecognized by most. Should Jeff’s entire career be defined by the poor decisions he made during one brief period? I’m not making excuses for what happened, but I feel strongly that we should realize this as an unfortunate example of human frailty. Jeff is as dedicated at home with his wife and children as he was in his career. He’s a loving and attentive father and husband. If anyone can turn this into something positive, he can. He’s already spoken out to his family and friends about the dangers of addiction. I, and the rest of Jeff’s family, remain extremely proud of his accomplishments, both professional and personal. We’ll stand behind him knowing he’s a decent, loving person. JIM CURTIS Rotterdam The writer is the brother of Jeff Curtis.
I hope he gets the help he needs---then get a nice quiet job some where.....I could never be a police officer,,,,I think I would be trigger happy with the taser......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
SCHENECTADY Police: Mom sniffed coke off baby Sex, drug binge allegedly endangered children BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
A Saratoga Springs mother spent Monday morning cruising Schenectady, snorting cocaine, smoking crack and having sex with men in the front seat, all with her two young children in the back, according to police accounts. It was an escalating list of alleged misdeeds that, police said, was topped when she snorted cocaine directly off her baby’s stomach while simultaneously breast-feeding the boy. Wendy L. Cook’s alleged binge was only uncovered after she got caught up in a city police prostitution sting, offering an undercover officer money to perform a sex act. “This ranks right at the top of the most despicable crimes that I’ve witnessed in my 13-year career,” police department spokesman Lt. Brian Kilcullen said. “I don’t even know how to characterize that.” Cook, 37, also known by the surname Knowlton-Cook, faces a host of endangerment counts, the top count being felony first-degree reckless endangerment. She was among five women arrested in the prostitution sting that targeted Hamilton Hill, Vale and Central State Street neighborhoods Monday morning. Cook, of 332 Caroline St., is accused of offering to perform oral sex with an undercover police officer at State and Swan streets in exchange for $20 just before 7 a.m. Police soon learned she had left her children in a car nearby with friends. They arrived to find the children with a woman. The woman told police Cook had a drug problem and Cook had smoked crack cocaine inside the car in the presence of the children. The woman also told police that Cook suggested selling the children to get more money for drugs, according to papers filed in court. The children were unharmed, but police believe the 5-year-old girl witnessed the events inside the car. She was awake when her mother had oral sex with two men, authorities said. The car then was parked on Catherine Street in the Vale neighborhood. When the car was moving, Cook alternately drove and was the passenger, police said. It was when she was a passenger that she allegedly snorted powdered cocaine off the baby’s stomach while breast-feeding him, police said. The felony reckless endangerment count relates to the driving, according to papers filed in court. She is accused of driving while under the influence of 10 to 12 hits of crack cocaine, with the children in the car. Last year, Cook was accused of injuring a Saratoga Springs police officer. Cook was wanted on a parole violation from Florida and Offi cer Thomas Sartin attempted to make the arrest May 12, 2006, when she fled, newspaper records show. Cook ran down an alley. Sartin caught up, but injured his shoulder and knee in the ensuing struggle, police said then. Cook was arraigned in Monday’s incident and ordered held without bail. The children were turned over to family members. The four others charged in Monday’s prostitution sting were: Florence Bowman, 39, 19 Swan St., Schenectady; Katie Yutes, 28, 119 Hegeman St., Schenectady; Virginia Weldon, 41, of 71 Robinson, St., Schenectady; Catherine Pritchard, 45, of 906 Congress St., Schenectady. Each faces one count of misdemeanor prostitution.
SCHENECTADY Officer stopped attack on girl Arrival prevented rape of 12-year-old, officials say BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter Reach Gazette reporter Steven Cook at 395-3122 or scook@dailygazette.net.
A city police officer was being credited Monday with finding a 12-year-old girl and the man accused of attacking her, just in time to prevent her from being raped, authorities said. T h e g i r l ’ s mother had just reported her missing from Eastern Avenue. Officer Michael Garavelli entered the nearby Vale Cemetery looking for her. It was near the border of the cemetery and Vale Park that he spotted her, the suspect on top of her with his pants down. He spotted the officer and fled. Garavelli tended to the girl as he relayed information about the suspect to other officers. “His arrival interrupted the crime in progress,” police spokesman Lt. Brian Kilcullen said Monday. “Had he not been there, the crime would have most likely been perpetrated, rather than attempted,” Police later arrested 26-year-old Chester L. Williamson and charged him with first-degree attempted rape and first-degree sexual abuse, felonies. Williamson, of 1234 Donnan Ave., authorities confirmed and records show, is a man with a criminal history that dates back 10 years and includes burglary and stolen property possession convictions. He remained on parole Friday related to an Albany County burglary case. He had been released from prison in April. Williamson is known also for admitting to dousing a 18-month-old cat named Buster with kerosene in November 1997 and lighting it on fire. The cat later died. The case sparked widespread outrage and led directly to the passage of “Buster’s Law,” which made aggravated animal cruelty a felony. Kilcullen said, “He is a predator in every sense of the word.” In Friday afternoon’s incident, Williamson is accused of grabbing the girl on Eastern Avenue and forcing her into the cemetery. Authorities also identified the location as Vale Park. Police quickly received a missing child report from the child’s mother. The report also included information that she had been seen on Eastern Avenue with an unknown older man, police said. The report came in just after 5 p.m. Officer Matthew Haskin responded to the residence, relaying the information to officers, who quickly began a search. Officer Garavelli was patrolling the cemetery, looking for her, when he spotted an attacker on top of the girl. The man fled into the pond area while Garavelli tended to the girl. The suspect escaped initially, police said, but he left behind his bike. Police stayed near the bicycle, hoping the suspect would return. About two hours later, it paid off. Williamson returned with a flashlight, looking for the bike, police said. Williamson was charged with first-degree attempted rape and first-degree sexual abuse, felonies. He was also charged with seconddegree unlawful imprisonment and endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. The attack would be the second in the Vale area in two months. In August, David Jones Jr. was charged with first-degree rape. The victim in that case told police she had been walking in the cemetery when she was approached by the suspect and dragged into nearby woods.
Officer loses job after fight Schenectady sheriff fires correction staff member over arrest outside bar
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published: Tuesday, October 2, 2007
SCHENECTADY -- A man who won a $150,000 settlement against Schenectady County for not getting him proper medical treatment while he was having a heart attack was allegedly assaulted by an off-duty correction officer Friday night outside a downtown bar. Roger Lee Harris, a recently hired correction officer with the Schenectady County Sheriff's Department, is accused of striking Byron Lake in the head after confronting the man in a parking lot outside McArthur's Pub, 1584 State St.
Lake, 61, who suffered a head cut in the encounter, was treated by paramedics at the scene.
Sheriff Harry Buffardi fired Harris shortly after his arrest Friday. It's unclear what prompted Harris to allegedly hit Lake.
Harris, a 58-year-old who worked for the Transportation Security Administration, was hired to work at the jail earlier this year. He was still in training at the Zone Five Police Academy in Schenectady.
Harris was still on employment probation at the jail, which Buffardi said allowed him to terminate Harris without a hearing.
"I don't want some 58-year-old guy fighting and drinking in bars on Friday night," Buffardi said. "You can't work here."
Harris was arraigned on a misdemeanor third-degree assault charge Monday morning in Schenectady City Court.
Police say a copy of a video that might show the incident will be obtained from McArthur's as part of their investigation into the matter.
A person who answered the phone at the bar Monday declined comment about the incident.
In 2005, a federal judge upheld a $150,000 awarded to Lake in a civil suit against Schenectady and Schoharie counties and the company that runs jail medical services at Schenectady County after a jury determined that Lake's heart attack was improperly treated by officials.
Lake, who was serving time for felony DWI, was at Schoharie County Jail as an overcrowding transfer from Schenectady in 1998 when he said he had chest pain and numbness in his arm. Instead of sending Lake to the hospital, he was transferred back to Schenectady County Jail.
Medical staff at the jail decided Lake didn't need hospitalization. But on further complaints, Lake was eventually sent to the hospital, where it was later determined he suffered a heart attack.
A jury first awarded Lake $782,988. But a U.S. District judge set aside $632,988 in punitive damages, saying he didn't feel the defendants acted with malicious or callous indifference to Lake's needs. The judge upheld the $150,000 in compensatory damages.
Geezzz...first they tried to kill Byron Lake by not seeking medical attention during a heart attack, then they try to beat him to death. Isn't it 3 strikes and you're out? This guy had better not leave home for the remainder of his life, huh?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
A Saratoga Springs mother spent Monday morning cruising Schenectady, snorting cocaine, smoking crack and having sex with men in the front seat, all with her two young children in the back, according to police accounts.
That's what we need as a 'tourist' in Schenectady.....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
SCHENECTADY COUNTY More jail hirings ordered State commission demands 26 to 30 guards be added BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
The state Commission of Correction has ordered Schenectady County to hire 26 to 30 additional correction officers in addition to the 18 it hired this year, county officials said. County officials, however, question the commission’s analysis of the county jail’s staffing needs and are trying to lower the number of mandated hires. The county plans to hire six guards in 2008, but has not placed additional money in the tentative 2008 budget for more correction officers. “The commission created a number of positions. They created positions that do not even exist here,” said Sheriff Harry Buffardi. “They used some kind of generic template to determine our staffing needs.” A spokesperson for the commission did not return a phone call for comment Tuesday. The order for more staffing in the jail comes as the county also faces a potential tax increase, outlined in the preliminary budget released this week; officials say they are determined to hold taxes down. County Attorney Chris Gardner said the county submitted a Freedom of Information Law request to the state, “requesting the commission’s staffing analysis of other facilities in New York.” The county wants to know how the commission determined the staffing numbers, he said. The county is hoping the commission “will reevaluate its facts and position,” Gardner said. Buffardi said the commission made its latest request two weeks ago. “I have until Oct. 12 to respond to the report, and we will argue over that. There are a number of positions that we believe we can argue against.” Buffardi said the commission wants the county to hire four full-time officers to supervise its work-release program, yet the county does not have such a program. It also wants him to hire two full-time officers for the third shift to handle emergency transport of inmates. “We do four or less emergency transports per year on the third shift, and they want me to spend $100,000 for two officers just in case,” Buffardi said. The current procedure is to send an officer to transport the inmate and then bring in another officer on overtime to “backfill the position,” Buffardi said. “That is the efficiency of overtime.” The commission also wants the county to hire maintenance people assigned exclusively to the jail, “in case there is a problem,” Buffardi said. The commission did not cite any existing maintenance problems at the jail. The county currently handles all jail maintenance with existing staff, he said. Buffardi said the people the commission wants the county to hire are mandated posts, meaning “if one is empty we will have to bring in someone on overtime to fill it.” He said overtime costs could increase as a result. Buffardi cannot authorize mandatory overtime for shifts. Under the contract with the Sheriff’s Benevolent Association, which expired in December, overtime is voluntary. Gardner said the county is negotiating with the union to require mandatory overtime. “We believe it would be a good idea to have mandatory overtime. It would put us in the mainstream,” he said. The commission said understaffing at the county jail led to the escape of an inmate, and it ordered the county last year to increase staffing at the county jail to 161 full-time correction officers. The jail had 147 positions at the time. The commission issued its report after an investigation into the Feb. 21, 2006, escape of inmate Edwin Ortiz from the recreation yard at the jail. Ortiz was captured 19 hours later in Schenectady.
SCHENECTADY Mom accused in binge has troubled past Judge decries ‘atrocities’ attributed to suspect BY STEVEN COOK Gazette Reporter
Wendy Knowlton-Cook stood in City Court Tuesday morning, crying at the thought of signing a full order of protection barring her from contact with her two children. It was an order brought on by charges fi led the day before, accusations by police that she prostituted herself in front of those same children, and even went so far as to snort cocaine off her baby’s stomach. But, just four years ago, it wasn’t like this. If Knowlton-Cook was crying then, in May 2003, it was tears of joy. She, along with the whole of the Capital Region, rooted for a horse owned in part by her father, Jack Knowlton, as the now-legendary Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, the fi rst two legs of horse racing’s Triple Crown. Knowlton-Cook was close enough to her father then that she sold Funny Cide memorabilia out of a Saratoga Springs shop, a privilege the father allowed to only a few. It is a background that Schenectady police spokesman Lt. Brian Kilcullen noted is unusual for those charged with similar crimes. But, he said, it’s not unheard of. “Drugs affect everyone, in every walk of life and in every class in society,” Kilcullen said. Knowlton-Cook, 37, was ordered held Tuesday in the Schenectady County Jail on $15,000 bail by Schenectady City Court Judge Vincent Versaci, a bail amount double what the prosecution asked. Just after, Versaci let loose. He noted that he usually does not speak at such hearings, but the nature of the charges compelled him. “I have never seen such atrocities in my life,” Versaci said, “and that’s saying a lot. Congratulations.” The judge followed that quickly by noting that defendants are innocent until proven otherwise. “I hope that somehow this was all a mistake,” Versaci said. Knowlton-Cook was represented by a public defender, Lauren Mack, who noted her client has ties to the region: Family members are near. But, she also noted that Knowlton-Cook was a member of Saratoga Springs Drug Court, a program to help offenders fight drug addiction. Knowlton-Cook had been in good standing with her Saratoga County drug treatment, officials there said. She consistently tested clean for drugs since joining the program. Her most recent test was Sept. 26. Now, Knowlton-Cook is accused of spending much of Monday morning high on crack and powder cocaine, all the while turning tricks as a prostitute in front of her 5-year-old daughter and 2-monthold son. They have been placed with family. The most serious charge against her is felony reckless endangerment. The accusations are that she drove while under the influence of 10 to 12 hits of crack cocaine, all while her children were in the car. Schenectady County Public Defender Mark Caruso noted the case Tuesday was still new, but his office has begun looking into it on her behalf. Asked about Knowlton-Cook’s family, Caruso said he saw no record that they had been in contact yet. Regardless of any relative’s situation, Caruso said Knowlton-Cook has told them she has no money for her defense. She’s an adult, he said, meaning relatives have no obligation to step in. Schenectady County Sheriff Harry Buffardi also said late Tuesday afternoon there had been no contact regarding her bail. Knowlton-Cook herself declined a request for an interview. Her father, Jack Knowlton, did not return requests for comment. TROUBLES BEGIN According to police reports and other accounts, Knowlton-Cook’s fortunes changed radically by October 2003. On Oct. 31, 2003, her husband, Patrick E. Cook, died. The death is recorded in an obituary printed days later in The Hartford Courant, where his family lived. The obituary does not record how he died. The Colorado-born, England-educated Patrick Cook had one child with his wife, Wendy, the obituary reads. He also had another child, who lived in Florida. Florida is where Knowlton-Cook would later be arrested. In the early morning hours of March 1, 2005, a man flagged down Hollywood police. A woman he knew as Wendy had just taken his cellphone, he told officers, according to a report released Tuesday by the Hollywood Police Department. Police made contact with Knowlton-Cook, who was apparently nearby. The phone was in her hand. But when police officers tried to take her into custody, she struggled. She tried to punch one, as well as scratch and bite. Officers finally took her to the ground and she was arrested. One officer suffered scratches on her arm. It was after her arrest that officers found more than the cellphone. On her, they found a 3.5-inch glass pipe with what appeared to be crack cocaine residue. They also found a hypodermic needle with a small black bag that contained what appeared to be heroin. Knowlton-Cook was given three years drug offender probation, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. Later in 2005, Knowlton-Cook was back in Saratoga Springs, charged in December with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, records show. Then, on May 12, 2006, Knowlton-Cook ran into Saratoga Springs police Officer Thomas Sartin. Sartin tried to arrest her on a warrant related to the Florida case, but she again did not go quietly, police said then. Sartin chased her down Broadway to an alley near the Putnam Market. Sartin arrested her, but not before he injured his shoulder and knee. Knowlton-Cook later was convicted of resisting arrest, offi cials said. She was placed in misdemeanor drug court. Saratoga County District Attorney James Murphy III on Tuesday said she had been in the treatment court since the spring. She submitted to as many as three drug tests each week and came back clean each time, he said. “She had been participating actively and she had been doing what she was told to do pretty consistently,” Murphy said. “She was certainly in a position that we thought was a very good one.” Murphy noted, however, that it was unlikely that the judge there would give her another chance given the allegations in Schenectady. The judge has already filed a warrant for her arrest. In a 2003 article in The Daily Gazette heralding the Funny Cide store, a store that Knowlton-Cook owned, she talked of an uncertain future for the establishment, one that depended on the horse’s popularity enduring. The report, which appeared just two weeks before her husband’s death, included notes on Funny Cide items being sold that included flasks, mouse pads and money clips. Four years later, she sat Tuesday night in the Schenectady County Jail. Officials reported no effort to bail her out. PETER R. BARBER/GAZETTE PHOTOGRAPHER Wendy Cook looks toward a television reporter while being led from Schenectady City Court on Tuesday.
http://www.dailygazette.com SCHENECTADY COUNTY Sheriff fires guard in fight Alleged victim won civil suit against county BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
A Schenectady County jail guard found himself out of a job the same night he was charged with assaulting a man outside a bar. The man who was reportedly attacked and received minor injuries won a lawsuit against the county two years ago. The guard, Roger Lee Harris, 58, of 1259 Glenwood Boulevard, was arrested Friday night on third-degree assault, a class A misdemeanor, city police said. Harris allegedly struck Byron Lake, 61, of 7 Elbert St., at around 8:30 p.m. in the parking lot belonging to MacArthur’s Pub, 1584 State St., according to the police report. Lake fell and lacerated his head, police said. Harris identified himself as a correction officer before allegedly hitting Lake, and similarly to police who answered the call for assistance, according to police and Sheriff Harry Buffardi. Buffardi said he fired Harris Friday night. “The guy was involved in drinking alcohol and fighting, and I don’t want him. That is the purpose of probation, to allow an employer to screen employees,” Buffardi said. “I have zero tolerance for people who are on probation and drinking, fighting and carrying on.” Buffardi said he did not believe Harris sought preferential treatment from police by identifying himself as a jail guard. “He was perhaps displaying his authority,” he said. Buffardi said he also does not believe Harris knew Lake had won a lawsuit against the county. In 2005, a U.S. District Court jury in Albany awarded Lake a $782,000 judgment after proving stays in the Schenectady and Schoharie county jails violated his civil rights and caused him permanent heart damage. Lake was booked in August 1998 in Schenectady County and later transferred to Schoharie County because of jail crowding. Lake claimed staff at both jails ignored his complaints of chest pains that caused him to collapse and ultimately left him with long-term health problems. Buffardi said he has launched an internal investigation into alleged confrontation between Harris and Lake, to protect the county and to rule out any “linkage between us and him.” The Sheriff’s Department conducts investigations “in any event like this, just to have a documentary package in case there is any action brought against. This helps us,” Buffardi said. Harris was several months into his probation period with the Sheriff’s Department and was attending the six-week correction officer’s course at the Zone 5 Police Academy when he was fi red, Buffardi said. Buffardi said he fired Harris after reviewing circumstances of the incident. A camera captured the alleged incident as well. Members of Buffardi’s staff reviewed the tape, which “corroborated” the police report, Buffardi said. Harris was one of 18 people Buffardi hired this year in response to report by the state Commission of Correction. The commission said understaffing at the county jail contributed to an inmate escape, and it ordered the county to increase staffing to 161 full-time correction officers from 147. The commission issued its report after an investigation into the Feb. 21, 2006, escape of inmate Edwin Ortiz from the recreation yard at the jail. Ortiz was captured 19 hours later in Schenectady.
“The commission created a number of positions. They created positions that do not even exist here,” said Sheriff Harry Buffardi. “They used some kind of generic template to determine our staffing needs.”
Changing the 'sex offender' law????? Cant lock them out but we can lock them in....
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
SCHENECTADY COUNTY State cites jail understaffing in beating of inmate BY MICHAEL LAMENDOLA Gazette Reporter
The state is investigating the gang assault of a young inmate in the Schenectady County Jail, citing understaffing as a contributing factor. Sheriff Harry Buffardi denied that understaffing was a cause, instead saying that the jail guard overseeing the inmates at the time failed to do his job. The jail guard resigned rather than face internal charges of gross negligence over the matter. State Commission of Correction spokesman John Caher said “we believe the understaffing contributed to the escape of Ortiz and contributed to events of August when a youth was beaten.” Inmate Edwin Ortiz escaped briefly in February of 2006. Zechariah Fay, 17, of Niskayuna, suffered a fractured cheekbone and passed blood through his urine after he was allegedly beaten by four inmates intermittently over about a half-hour on the morning of Aug. 15 on the second floor of the jail. Officer David Teller, 38, resigned after the incident rather than face an administrative charge of gross negligence following an investigation by Chief Deputy Timothy Bradt of the sheriff’s department. Teller had served eight years with the department. Caher said the jail has “been severely and chronically understaffed going back to 2001. At present, they are not complying with the 2001 staffing plan, and even if at that level, it would be inadequate.” The 2001 commission plan mandated that the jail increase its staffing to 161 people, a level apparently never met. Following the Ortiz escape last year, the commission authorized the jail to increase its staff to 191. Buffardi said his budget allows for 161 correction officers, but he is staffed in the mid-150s because of turnover and other issues. Caher said “we’ve been having discussions with county for a long time, and we wanted to make sure they had this prior to formulating the budget for next year.” OVERTIME ISSUE Buffardi also said he prefers to use overtime instead of staff positions, which he calls more effi - cient. Caher said the commission is recommending additional staff because it found that “some functions were done by people shifted from essential positions. Essentially, key positions were abandoned so these tasks could be fulfilled. The essential thing is that the jail is understaffed.” He called the commission’s analysis objective and said that “it should come as no big surprise. We have been talking about this since 2001.” Ron Walsh, president of the Sheriff’s Benevolent Association, said he supports the commission’s staffing analysis.
Fired correction officer felt threatened Racial slurs, menacing movement caused him to swing, Harris says
By LAUREN STANFORTH, Staff writer First published: Thursday, October 4, 2007
SCHENECTADY -- A Schenectady County correction officer, fired after punching a man outside a downtown bar, said Wednesday he felt physically threatened and was targeted with racial slurs before he took a swing. Roger L. Harris of Schenectady said he began talking with people outside McArthur's Pub, 1584 State St., about 8:40 p.m. Friday about a baby he saw left alone in a car in the parking lot. Harris, who is black, said a man in the group, Byron Lake, who is white, became agitated and walked briskly toward him uttering racial slurs.
But Lake's lawyer, Kevin Louibrand, said he believes a videotape of the incident in police custody contradicts Harris' story. Louibrand declined to comment on Harris' claims about Lake's comments.
Harris said he had seen Lake around before, but did not know Lake previously served jail time for felony drunk driving. Lake won a $150,000 civil judgment against Schenectady and Schoharie county jails two years ago when a jury decided that jail medical staff ignored Lake's heart attack symptoms.
Lake fell after Harris punched him and was cut on his head. The police report said Harris was impaired by alcohol.
"I know (people) are going to hang me out to dry, but it wasn't a bar fight. I wasn't drunk," Harris said Wednesday.
Harris was charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and was fired from his new job as a correction officer where he was still serving a probationary period.
Sheriff Harry Buffardi said it would be deplorable if Harris was the object of racial slurs, but said that would be no excuse for punching someone. A person with that kind of temper cannot work as a correction officer, Buffardi said.
SCHENECTADY McClellan closed as police respond to weapon report Man in custody without incident BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Police arrested a city man Thursday afternoon after he allegedly threatened several people on McClellan Street by displaying a handgun. Khalan Pendelton, 18, of 236 Mc-Clellan St., was facing a weapon charge following the incident. He was taken into custody by police after locking himself in his apartment for more than two hours. The incident started when a group of people attending the Daly Funeral Home next door were gathered near the porch of Pendelton’s rented duplex. Pendelton apparently told the people to move away from the porch and then returned a short time later with a handgun in the waistband of his pants, police spokesman Brian Kilcullen said. “He displayed a gun and then went back inside the house,” he said. Neighbors reported the incident around 12:45 p.m. and police were on scene a short time later. Police cruisers cordoned off a block of McClellan Street in either direction from the home and called in the special operations squad. In the end, Pendelton’s grandmother contacted him inside the home and convinced him to leave peacefully. He was taken into custody without incident. Kilcullen said police obtained a warrant to search the property and would have entered the house had Pendelton not left on his own accord. He said a search of the apartment yielded a handgun, but no other contraband.
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