Even in jail, Schenectady cop gets arrested John Lewis arrested for vandalism at Schoharie jail
By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer Last updated: 3:19 p.m., Friday, April 2, 2010 SCHOHARIE -- Even in jail, disgraced Schenectady police Officer John Lewis can't stay out of trouble.
City police said this afternoon that they were notified that Lewis has been charged with reckless endangerment of property after allegedly breaking a window at the Schoharie County jail, where the officer is being held in the wake of a January arrest for alleged driving while intoxicated.
In February, the troubled officer was acquitted of an unrelated DWI charge, his second acquittal on a misdemeanor charge in the last two years.
SCHENECTADY Decision looms on cop’s fate Recommendation by hearing officer still secret BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
A hearing officer has decided whether Officer John Lewis should be fired — but his recommendations are being kept secret. Mayor Brian U. Stratton won’t announce the final decision — which he makes — until Monday, he said in a press release. The delay is to give Lewis’ attorney time to make one last attempt to persuade the city not to fire his client. The city’s prosecutor in the case can also submit additional arguments. Stratton told both sides to submit their last arguments by noon Thursday. They will be allowed to see Hearing Officer Jeffrey M. Selchick’s report first. But they’ll have to read fast. Selchick’s report is 85 pages long, Stratton said. It reviews the testimony and evidence offered during six days of contentious hearings last year. Then, after sifting through contradictory statements, phone and video evidence and other documents, Selchick lays out his disciplinary recommendations. He is expected to release similar reports for four more officers soon. Stratton does not have to follow Selchick’s recommendations. But Selchick was chosen because city officials believe he is a meticulous judge with great credibility. His determinations have never been overturned on appeal — a record that could help the city if Selchick recommends termination. City officials expect officers to appeal if the mayor fires them. In the Lewis case, Selchick backs up his disciplinary recommendations by listing what he believes to be the actual facts in the case — all of which are in dispute. It is on those facts that the mayor will base his final decision. ...............>>>>...............................>>>>.................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r00104&AppName=1
SCHENECTADY Officials take steps to keep Lewis report secret BY KATHLEEN MOORE Gazette Reporter
Corporation Counsel L. John Van Norden is stuck with an almost impossible task this week: keeping the details of the Officer John Lewis report from becoming public before the mayor makes his decision Monday. He has spoken at length with each person who has a copy of the report, emphasizing that they must keep it secret. He even restricted the number of people who could read it — and won’t let a single City Council member look at it. All this for a task he doesn’t even want to accomplish. “This is an injunction by Judge [Barry] Kramer,” he said. “It was our preference, it still is our preference, to be transparent.” Only eight people, including Hearing Officer Jeffrey M. Selchick, have access to the report. In it, Selchick details exactly what Lewis did wrong — if anything — and what punishment he should get. But even Selchick wouldn’t break Van Norden’s vow of secrecy — although Van Norden admitted that he had to have a long conversation with the independent judge to make sure he wouldn’t spill the beans. Selchick said he was disappointed by the news, joking that he was sorry his 85-page report would have such a limited audience. “I did a huge undertaking. I’ve done an exhaustive analysis,” he said. Van Norden said that even after the mayor announces whether he will fire Lewis, the report cannot be made public. But even if it is only read by a handful of city officials, the report may have tremendous ramifications. Selchick said he went far beyond simply judging whether Lewis should be fi red. “I articulated what needs to be articulated to restore integrity in the department,” he said. He did not call for specific policies to be changed or created, he said. “But I made observations,” he said. “What we’re striving for here is not just the right thing for Mr. Lewis but the right thing for the department.” He declined to say what the “right thing” for Lewis was, but said his report focused on the fact that all of Lewis’ alleged misdeeds occurred when he was off-duty. ...............>>>>................>>>>...................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01101&AppName=1
ok....I'm confused here. Wasn't there one of those infamous plea bargins made where Lewis agrees to resign in exchange for probation? So where did the firing thing come in?
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
ok....I'm confused here. Wasn't there one of those infamous plea bargins made where Lewis agrees to resign in exchange for probation? So where did the firing thing come in?
Cop to appeal termination Schenectady officer had been arrested five times in past year, officials say
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer First published in print: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
SCHENECTADY -- A day after being fired from the police department, John Lewis is appealing the city's efforts to get rid of him, according to his attorney, James Tuttle of Latham.
Tuttle lamented Tuesday that Lewis, who faces domestic and drunken driving criminal charges, could not testify during the disciplinary hearings that led Mayor Brian U. Stratton to kick him off the force. The mayor's decision Monday afternoon followed a recommendation last week by hearing officer Jeffrey Selchick that the 40-year-old police officer be terminated.
"There are two sides to every story, but hearing officer Selchick only heard the city's side of the story," according to a statement from Tuttle's office. "The police department is clearly hauling itself up by its own bootstraps."..........>>>>...............>>>>.................Read more: http://www.timesunion.com/AspS.....4/2010#ixzz0l4TzNE1k
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