Hunter who shot officer must pay $20,000
A hunter who shot a state environmental conservation officer last fall has been ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution and sentenced to probation and community service, the Columbia County District Attorney said Tuesday.
Alan Blanchard, of Gallatin, pleaded guilty to felony assault on Feb. 24 in Columbia County Court before Judge Jonathan Nichols. On Tuesday, Nichols sentenced Blanchard to six months in the Columbia County Jail, with credit for time served, and ordered him to pay restitution to the officer he shot, serve five years of probation and to perform 100 hours of community service, District Attorney Paul Czajka said.
Blanchard was released Tuesday.
Blanchard pleaded guilty without knowing what sentence the judge would impose, Czajka said. Felony assault carries a maximum penalty of up to seven years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Czajka said he was “satisfied” with the outcome of the case.
The Police Benevolent Association of New York State said in a press release that it, too, was also “satisfied with the way the case was adjudicated.”
Blanchard was hunting in woods off Silvernails Road in Gallatin about 5 p.m. last Nov. 9 when he shot state Environmental Conservation Officer James Davey in the pelvis with a 30-30 rifle.
Davey and Lt. Liza Bobseine were in the area investigating reports of deer poaching when Blanchard shot Davey, authorities said at the time.
Bobseine applied pressure to the wound at the scene until emergency responders arrived.
Blanchard and his hunting partner, James Brown of Pine Plains, also remained at the scene and aided with rescue efforts. Brown was not charged.
Davey underwent surgery at the MidHudson Regional Hospital in Poughkeepsie and spent time in its intensive care unit.
On Tuesday, the state PBA cited Davey’s “compassion and forgiveness in the wake of a tragedy that could have ended his life” and said the judge “granted [Blanchard] leniency primarily on the strength of Officer Davey’s powerful and empathetic victim impact statement.”
Davey, 39, is a 12-year veteran of the state conservation police force.