Judges find in favor of court officer

State’s appeal of judgment in disciplinary case rejected

ALBANY, N.Y. >> An appellate court has rejected the state’s appeal of a ruling in favor of a Troy court officer in a dispute over the seizure of her weapons.

In a unanimous decision Thursday, the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court upheld a 2013 decision by the state Court of Claims that found officials from the state Office of Court Administration unlawfully imprisoned then-Troy City Court officer Colleen Casey while they attempted to seize her firearms during an internal investigation. Casey was awarded nearly $450,000 after the Court of Claims ruled that while the state agency did have the right to seize Casey’s weapons, it did not have the right to escort her from the city courthouse against her will, drive her to her home and search that residence without a warrant.

“Nothing in any of the provisions [of the Court Officers Rules and Procedures Manual] relied upon by [the state] expressly authorizes a supervisor to use confinement or force to compel a subordinate to comply with an order,” the appellate court’s ruling reads.

The search of Casey’s home took place after an administrative judge for courts outside New York City suspended the officer’s firearms privileges, as well as those of two others who were the targets of an internal investigation into a complaint by a co-worker that was eventually dismissed.

On April 24, 2009, Casey said she was taken to a jury room in the courthouse and held there, with supervising officers blocking her exit. Casey claimed she turned over her court identification card and a work-issued handgun, but objected when supervisors demanded she also surrender three handguns at her home that she had purchased privately.

Casey testified those officers surrounded her, escorted her from the courthouse and forced her into a SUV that drove her to her residence.

During the 2013 trial, Major Jeanette Jordan, who was in charge of security operations in the Third Judicial District, testified that Casey willingly rode with officers to her home and denied Casey’s claims that officers laid their hands on her while escorting her. The Court of Claims, however, said that claim lacked any supporting evidence or testimony.

Casey said she sought treatment for severe mental anguish as a result of the incident, suffering an emotional breakdown that nearly drove her to suicide. A court officer since 1994, Casey started out with the Rensselaer County Sheriff’s Office before becoming a state court officer in 2002. She is currently assistant chief court officer in the Renselaer County Courthouse.