More First St. fallout possible
“Other discipline” may arise after chief reviews report of encounter
An internal police department report into a confrontation between Albany police and residents on First Street in March has wrapped up and could result in more discipline.
But specifics may never be known publicly if the department chooses to invoke civil service law that keeps an officer’s personnel files confidential.
Chief Eric Hawkins couldn’t say how much information would be released from the report once he reviews it next week.
“Right now, the commanders are reviewing the report from (the Office of Professional Standards), and I should actually get that report at the latest Tuesday,” he told the Times Union during an exclusive interview. “No other officers have been suspended, however, there’s a good chance there will be some other discipline that arises as a result of the investigation.”
Police launched their internal
probe into the March 16 confrontation between officers and residents at 523 First St. after police body camera footage showed three black men being beaten by police during a call to break up a loud house party.
Initially, the three men were charged with offenses including resisting arrest, but the Albany County District Attorney’s office later dropped the charges against the men and charged one of the officers involved, Luke Deer, with felony assault and misdemeanor official misconduct.
The criminal case against Deer was sent to a grand jury. Deer as well as two other Albany cops were suspended and remain so with pay while the incident is investigated.
District Attorney David Soares’ office said the criminal case against Deer “remains open and pending” and thus couldn’t provide further comment until the investigation concludes. Deer waived a preliminary hearing in April, leaving the DA’S office with six months to present the case to a grand jury for a possible indictment.
Police departments in New York often cite a state law known as “50-a” that shields the disclosure of officers’ personnel records as the reason for not providing information on their conduct. But the state law doesn’t prohibit the release of internal affairs records if they are not part of a police officer’s personnel file.
The law has been criticized for years and the state Committee on Open Government, tasked with recommending improvements to the state’s Freedom of Information Law, has called for the repeal of 50-a.
In its most recent annual report, the committee noted that “its application in the courts over the past 40 years has turned a narrow FOIL exception into a virtually impenetrable statutory bar to the disclosure of information about the conduct of law enforcement officers.”
Changes to the law also were called for in the recommendations made in a recent survey by the Center for Law and Justice that highlighted some city residents’ experiences with law enforcement in Albany. Specifically, the center’s executive director Alice Green called for a public release of all use-of-force reports when an officer uses his or her weapon on duty as well as release of disciplinary findings and charges against officers.
The Times Union requested Albany’s useof-force reports for the last year leading up to the First Street incident, but the department denied the request.