What has the Mayor really tried? He's allowed the leadership to stay in their positions, which continues the cycle of complacency and misdirection of the entire force. Yes, there are some bad cops, but you know, there are bad cops in every City - have you read about the cop in Albany who was just fired? The difference is that there is no leadership in Schenectady. Mayor Stratton isn't trying to push a rock up a hill, he's trying to deflect and ride it out until people forget or something else happens. Perhaps he could learn from other leaders, including Susan Savage.
What's ubelieveable is that it has taken over a year and thousands of public dollars to litigate this matter. Had the Schenectady PD done an internal investigation prior to turning it over to the DA who then turned it over to the AG, much of the money and time could have been saved. With all the changes and improvements the new Chief wants to make, he needs these 5 cops on the street instead of at home. Hopefully a speedy internal investigation will now follow and the men will be allowed to return to work, where I'm sure they'll run into this scumbag again.
Another nod to those in charge at the Schenectady PD. And they wonder why people think they're scumbags - perhaps its because they continue to reward behavior like this.
I guess all the talk about change and reform was just that. Everyone in that administration knows the community; the problem is that nobody wants to take responsiblity for it.
It would be interesting, for example, to find out who was in charge the night 5 officers were suspended without any investigation and why that judgment was made.
I am interested to see what his priorities are and how he plans to achieve the goals of this "new" administration.
I'm sure those statistics are available somewhere, and if you ask the appropriate people they can help you out. I would agree that the majority are domestic calls and that they barely have time to do any prevention because they're dealing constantly running from call to call. How long do you think it takes to make sure a drunk has calmed down or someone high on God only knows what isn't a threat to their neighbors? How long do you think they have to take to make sure a husband stops beating his wife? And then there's the paperwork - God forbid they forget to fill that out - they might be sent to the Attorney General.
I agree that there needs to be some reform, but stop blaming it on the men and women patroling your streets, and start asking some tough questions of those you have elected to govern them.
I really hope that Bennett is serious about cleaning things up and enacting change. There are a lot of good officers on that force looking for direction and who want to make a difference in the City - that's why they made the choice to become officers. Change must come from, and be supported from the top in order to have any effect throughout the organization. So far nobody has had the brass to do anything about the problems. Hopefully Bennett can start practicing what he preaches and stop pointing fingers. That goes for the Mayor as well. It's great that Stratton wants to focus on fiscal change, but being a mayor is more than balancing a checkbook. The City is making great strides in re-branding itself and making downtown more inviting, but if you walk a few blocks in the wrong direction you are reminded of how much work needs to be done. Finger pointing and hiding behind the past will get us nowhere, and we did not elect anyone for that purpose. I hope our City leaders can finally move to the future and do what they were elected/appointed to do.
Perhaps some of the criticism and media attention should be put on the administration and not the officers. Has anyone noticed that in the last decade or so, only officers have been removed and none of the adminstration? This department is in need of leadership and direction, not someone passing the buck up to the AG.
The difference between the way most police departments/cities handle such matters and the way that Schenectady has handled this matter should be a lesson. Rather than bringing this matter into the public arena and using taxpayer dollars for 9 months of investigation (and now another 6-9 months for a trial), the department should have done a thorough internal investigation.
Cleaning up corruption in the department is very important, and should be the focus. I question whether there are any real attempts to do so, or if this is a cover up of a lack of leadership in a department that desperately needs it.
Posted on March 27 at 8:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
What has the Mayor really tried? He's allowed the leadership to stay in their positions, which continues the cycle of complacency and misdirection of the entire force. Yes, there are some bad cops, but you know, there are bad cops in every City - have you read about the cop in Albany who was just fired? The difference is that there is no leadership in Schenectady. Mayor Stratton isn't trying to push a rock up a hill, he's trying to deflect and ride it out until people forget or something else happens. Perhaps he could learn from other leaders, including Susan Savage.
On Editorial: A 'friendly' slap in the face