Troy police force gets more diverse
New officers join after a campaign to expand pool of applicants
An advertising campaign run two years ago by the Troy Police Department to expand and diversify the number of applicants taking the police officer exam paid off in the newest group of rookie police officers, which the department considers its most diverse.
Two Black men, two women and three white men have gone off to the Zone Five Police Academy for six months of training after being sworn in to join the department of 129 officers.
“We realized that just in general less people were interested in taking the job or taking the test. We realized within the department we have to do a much better job of recruiting,” said Chief Brian Owens. “By having the recruiting push and trying to get the message out, we got a larger candidate pool and a more diverse candidate pool. We hire people, it’s more representative because we have that more representative pool.”
The seven new officers — Jack Engster, Katherine A. Molesky, David Grant, Kevin Koberger, Marykate Montemagno, William T. Sausville and Steven Clermont — are all college graduates with a variety of backgrounds.
The new officers took the police exam before George Floyd died in May 2020 in an encounter with four Minneapolis police officers who are awaiting trial for his death. The chiefs said that and similar incidents may discourage people from wanting to be police officers.
The city police force has 10 minorities, including eight Black officers and two who are Hispanic, and 13 women. Black officers make up 6.2 percent of the department’s current strength, Hispanic officers are 1.6 percent of the department and women are 10 percent of the department. The city’s population is 17.5 percent Black and 9.6 percent Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau population estimates as of 2019.
The department advertised on radio, filmed videos, worked with the Troy African American Pastoral Alliance, had patrol officers distribute information, met with community groups and put out flyers in various stores around the city.
“We also offered prep classes for the test. We keyed in on the minority community to get some of those kids in,” Dewolf said.
The result was that more than 400 people took the civil service exam, which was about twice the size of the previous group to take the test for patrol officer.
“We try to hire for character. We try to hire for people who have a desire to help others, who are emphatic,” Owens said. “The policing-specific skills and knowledge we can teach that.”
The Schenectady Police Department also recently swore in new police officers.
A snowmobile crash on the southern basin of Lake George has claimed the life of a 35-year-old off-duty New York City firefighter who was visiting the area for recreation.
Carmine J. Barresi, a Bronx firefighter who joined the FDNY in June 2017, became submerged under an ice shelf in about 10 to 15 feet of water for about 30 minutes after his snowmobile struck a boat dock Thursday just before 4 p.m., according to the Warren County Sheriff ’s Office.
Barresi was thrown off the sled near the dock, which belonged to Halls Boats, the office said.
Rescuers removed Barresi from the water and took him to Glens Falls Hospital where he was pronounced dead due to traumatic internal injuries, the investigators said.
Barresi was vacationing with a group from New York City which came to the area for outdoor activities, officials said. Just what caused the crash remains under investigation.
A spokesman for the New York City Fire Department said Barresi was assigned to Engine Company 64 in the Bronx.
“This is a terrible loss for the FDNY family. Carmine bravely served the residents of the Bronx as a member of Engine Company 64, fighting fires and providing emergency medical care,” said New York City Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro. “Our thoughts are with his family and the members of his company.”
State Police, the state forest rangers, firefighters from West Glens Falls, Lake George, Bay Ridge, Bolton and EMS from Bay Ridge and Lake George EMS responded.
Other fatalities
State troopers were also investigating a deadly snowmobile collision on Wolf Pond Road in Bellmont, Franklin County. Details were not available Friday afternoon.
The two fatalities bring the number of snowmobilers who have been killed in New York state this season to at least 10, while there have also been several injuries, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.