You can bet that there were more cases than one that he tampered with and now every case that he was involved with will be under suspicion of being mishandled by every defense attorney.
Just look at the job security for the attorneys......
...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
I'm thinking more about the criminals being let out of jail because of mishandled evidence. How many more police could be involved in this and how will the city deal with it. Or should I say how will the PBA let the city deal with it.
Or should I say how will the PBA let the city deal with it.
Yup...that's what you said and should be saying! The PBA runs the show...both in Schenectady and Rotterdam!! Ya got the 2 Hamilton brothers...and the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree. Although I do hear that the Hamilton in Schenectady is actually putting some working hours in these days! He's actually working...go figure!
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
Sergeant suspended in drug probe Schenectady police officer faces administrative action for allegedly shirking duty to track narcotics evidence
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer First published: Saturday, July 7, 2007
SCHENECTADY -- The highest-ranking officer ensnared in the city police department's missing drugs scandal has been suspended without pay after disciplinary charges were leveled against him. Until the change in his employment status Wednesday, Sgt. Daniel Diamond, an 18-year department veteran, had remained on paid leave since Valentine's Day.
Schenectady Public Safety Commissioner Wayne E. Bennett would only say Friday that Diamond allegedly shirked his duties as supervisor of the vice squad when it came to tagging, tracking and storing evidence from drug cases.
"He failed to properly perform his duties in those areas," said Bennett, who declined to discuss the specific charges.
The latest development in the vice squad probe comes days after former narcotics investigator Jeffrey D. Curtis, 46, pleaded guilty Monday to felony drug possession and evidence tampering. He admitted to a judge that he stole crack cocaine from the vice squad locker to satisfy a drug problem.
As part of the agreement, Curtis, who promptly retired from the force after criminal charges were filed against him in March, must cooperate with a State Police and grand jury probe into the disappearance of the drugs.
State Police were called in to investigate the missing evidence in January after drug charges against Anthony Best were dismissed because the district attorney's office couldn't produce the evidence against him. Curtis pleaded guilty to taking evidence only in that case.
The handling of vice squad evidence is at the heart of the investigation into the missing cocaine. The police department's own audit of drug evidence, carried out in the early stages of the investigation, exposed problems of sloppy evidence management, storage and record-keeping, law enforcement officials said.
PBA President Bob Hamilton said Friday that the union had anticipated the disciplinary charges against Diamond.
"We were expecting that they (disciplinary charges) were coming," Hamilton said.
"The PBA has been in contact with Sergeant Diamond and we're weighing our options at his time."
Speaking in general terms, Hamilton said an officer has eight days from the time administrative charges are filed to respond to them.
He said one of two things could happen after that: The officer could dispute the charges and request a disciplinary hearing or give union officials the green light to iron out a deal that would be acceptable to the officer and the police department. Nelson can be reached at 454-5347 or by e-mail at pnelson@timesunion.com.
Finally, someone starting to be taken to task for not doing their job. Wait, I guess I should look at it another way... Hey, who do these people think they are, you can't take the police to task, their the police! Just wait until the union hears about this...
I agree with you on this one BK. It does seem like a breath of fresh air! Kind of like the cops don't have as much of a strong hold on the city like they did. There will be consequenses for their behavior now. Wow...what a concept.
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
It seemed too good to be true, and it was. The bill Gov. Eliot Spitzer vetoed last week, having to do with how police discipline cases are handled, turned out to be not the one that Schenectady officials are intensely interested in and had strongly urged him to veto. But it is close enough, and the logic for vetoing it similar enough, to give them — and us — hope that he will take the same action when the Schenectady-relevant bill reaches his desk. A veto is essential if the city is to have any chance of gaining control over its police department, a department that has had well-chronicled problems in recent years — some so serious that officers have been convicted of crimes and gone to prison. But prosecution shouldn’t be the only way to punish a cop for misbehavior, and right now it pretty much is. That’s because discipline has been treated as a subject for collective bargaining, and the union contract calls for binding arbitration in these cases. And as everyone knows, and Mayor Brian Stratton has amply demonstrated in a letter to Spitzer, the arbitrator routinely sides with the union, whether the issue is money or discipline. As a result, for anything short of a crime, cops in Schenectady always seem to get off with a slap on the wrist or no punishment at all. If someone were to suggest that cops think they can get away with the big stuff because they know they always get away with the little stuff, we wouldn’t argue. After the last embarrassment, where a drugaddicted officer stole cocaine from the evidence locker, Stratton concluded that it was time to bring in a public safety commissioner with no ties to the department to run it. His choice was Wayne Bennett, recently retired from the position of state police superintendent. Bennett had taken control of discipline in that job after a 2005 court decision said the Taylor Law and civil service requirements for collective bargaining for public employees didn’t apply to state police discipline. And when he assumed control of police discipline in Schenectady last month, he cited as authority a March 2006 decision by the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. It said a municipality that had legislation on the books showing an intent to discipline its own officers, before the Taylor Law took effect in the late 1960s, could do so. The court talked about police being a “quasi-paramilitary organization” that needs to be accountable to local public officials. Although it is unclear whether the city of Schenectady made its intentions in this regard sufficiently clear to withstand a legal challenge by the PBA, it at least has a chance of prevailing. But not if the shameless state Legislature has its way. Because, as in almost every other case in recent memory involving unions, lawmakers have done the unions’ bidding and voted to undo the above-mentioned court decisions and once again require collective bargaining of discipline for the state police and municipal police agencies. That includes every one of our local senators and Assembly members, even though they are all well aware of the mess with the Schenectady Police Department — and, in the case of the Assembly, knew of Bennett’s assumption of control and were implored by Stratton not to vote for the legislation. Nice going, guys. The bill even says it will have no fiscal implications, which is nonsense. What about the hefty legal expenses the city has incurred, and will continue to, defending or settling or paying judgments in lawsuits against the police? Spitzer last week vetoed the bill regarding state police. He should do the same for the one regarding municipal police forces when it is presented to him.
I'm sorry, but even though I am greatful that we do have law enforcement which does make me feel somewhat safer, they are way too powerful and way too greedy. The PBA crosses the line. It is union/mafia at it's best! What the heck...we might as well get rid of the entire police force and use the national guard. It would be cheaper, since we pay for them in our already over burdened taxes and the way things are going....everything will be government run anyways!!
Seriously...I would dump the union...cause there ain't know way these cops would be giving up a job that rakes in those kind of wages and benefits! Where would they ever get a job to fit the one they have now?
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
Schenectady PD gets 10 new recruits 7/10/2007 By: Web Staff
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- The Schenectady Police Department is getting some new reinforcements.
Ten new recruits start training this week and will hit the streets come March.
Mayor Brian Stratton says he hopes the incoming officers will help improve an image tarnished by several incidents -- most recently the arrest of ex-narcotics officer Jeffrey Curtis, who pleaded guilty to stealing crack cocaine from an evidence locker.
Stratton says the department is getting better but still has to earn the community's trust.
"I think the new face of the police department is our resolve to make sure that every officer new or old knows that he or she is going be held accountable and that they are expected to do nothing less than an outstanding job," said Stratton.
This is the largest incoming class of police recruits in nearly six years, selected out of a pool more than 250 candidates who passed the civil service exam in December.
Officials say recruiting will continue until the department is fully staffed in 2008.
Surveillance camera increase gets mixed reaction 7/11/2007 By: Erin Billups
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- "There's been cameras in stores, there's been cameras everywhere. If they're gonna do something, they're gonna do it," said a Schenectady resident.
And that's the feeling of several residents we spoke to about the subject. They didn't want to go on camera. They don't like them. And it's the same when it comes to surveillance cameras.
Khemrj Donald's son owns a store in the city that's been robbed at least five times. He said cameras are not enough to deter crime.
Donald said, "They will still commit the crimes. They depend on that to live."
The Electric City is getting more electronic surveillance in its neighborhoods. Tuesday night the Schenectady County Legislature voted unanimously to pass a bill to quadruple the amount of cameras in the across the city. Our Erin Billups has more on what residents think about the approved plan.
But it's something that will be more of a way of life in Schenectady. Tuesday night the Schenectady County Legislature unanimously passed a bill accepting state funding through an Operation Impact Grant that will add 30 new cameras to the current surveillance program over next several months.
One community leader said the 10 cameras already in place in the Hamilton Hill and Vale neighborhoods are making an impact.
Schenectady Inner City Ministry Director Phillip Grigsby said, "I think people are now doing things, realizing the security cameras are there, and so they're moving away from the cameras. The good thing about a small community is there are only so many places you can go."
Management at Tony's Market said since the cameras have been installed, they feel safer and they see a real difference.
Manager Yousef Savsea said, "Every night you have more kids here and the neighborhood...but the camera, when I see them it's good. The cops come every five minutes. I like it."
District Attorney Bob Carney said he hopes it will help people feel safer. Residents say it's a start, but more needs to be done.
Grigsby said, "Right now the police are, because of their numbers, they're stuck on doing incident based policing. That means you call in, they dispatch a car. Everyone wants community police, everyone wants the cop on the beat."
"If you wanna do something around here, be serious about it and put more officers around here," said one Schenectady resident.
Locations for the cameras still have to be approved. Eight of the 30 new cameras will be installed within the next couple months.
The Electric City is getting more electronic surveillance in its neighborhoods. Tuesday night the Schenectady County Legislature voted unanimously to pass a bill to quadruple the amount of cameras in the across the city. Our Erin Billups has more on what residents think about the approved plan.
Ummm...did anybody else catch this? Since when is it the county's job to take care of safety in the city? Doesn't the city government have their own tax base that they can fund these things? They shouldn't be looking to the county for this should they? Hey, maybe we should take someone who serves on the county board and send him to the state level. After all, then maybe the County will finally get something. Legislate for the next step down instead of doing your own job. If there's a problem countywide, consider it. If it's a city problem, let the city take care of it. Mr. Kosiur, if you get the Assembly seat, can we expect that you will be bending over backwards bringig the pork barrel projects to the entire county, or will we still be just narrowed in on the city still?
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