Abuse of disabled person, coverup alleged at Greenfield site

GREENFIELD — Two Saratoga Springs women were arrested Wednesday after allegedly abusing a disabled person at a state facility and attempting to cover it up, State Police said.

On March 2, a 57-year-old employee was allegedly seen striking and injuring a resident of a Capital District Department of Developmental Services Offices facility on Alpine Meadows Road. The resident is non-verbal and has multiple developmental disabilities, State Police said.

Troopers responded and the state Justice Center for the Protection of People With Special Needs, a state agency that investigates allegations of abuse or neglect against disabled people, was notified. The facility was cooperative with the investigation, police said.

Police later learned the employee collaborated with a 37year-old woman at the facility, who allegedly recorded in business logs that the person was injured earlier in the day and not due to the employee’s abuse.

The 57-year-old was charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of an incompetent or physically disabled person, a felony, and second-degree harassment, a violation, police said.

The 37-year-old was charged with first-degree falsifying business records, a felony, as well as second-degree falsifying business records and making a punishable false written statement, both misdemeanors. They were both released on appearance tickets and are due in Greenfield Town Court on March 20.

Both women were placed on administrative leave when the alleged incident was reported, said Erin Silk, spokeswoman for the Office for People With Developmental Disabilities, which the facility operates under.

An investigation by the Justice Center for the Protection of People With Special Needs is currently ongoing.

“The Justice Center commends the State Police for moving swiftly to arrest two people allegedly involved in the abuse of a person with special needs in Greenfield,” spokeswoman Christine Buttigieg said in an email.

A call to the Saratoga County Public Defender’s office had not been returned later Friday afternoon.