Schenectady County Sheriff Dominic Dagostino on Monday suspended a corrections officer who had been arrested in a domestic incident over the weekend.
Ross M. Lackey, 27, of Niskayuna, was charged Saturday on accusations that he hit a woman, used a strangulation hold on her, took away her cell phone and prevented her from calling for help.
The incidents occurred twice on Saturday, once in the early morning hours and once later in the morning, police said.
The woman was able to come to the Niskayuna police station later that morning and file a report. A warrant was issued for Lackey’s arrest and he surrendered at once, police said.
Lackey faces two counts of harassment, a violation, and two counts of unlawful imprisonment, a misdemeanor.
Dagostino suspended him with pay while investigators determine what happened.
Unlike city police disciplinary cases, the contract governing the corrections officers allows the sheriff to make a quick disciplinary decision. Dagostino expects to get the results of the investigation this week.
Once he gets the results he will make a decision at once, he said.
“You don’t like things lingering,” he said. “It directly affects morale if things linger.”
His predecessor, Harry Buffardi, also took quick action on disciplinary matters.
From 2001 to 2007, Buffardi fired 13 corrections officers. Four of the terminations were overturned by arbitrators later, but he said the immediate punishment had an effect on both the officer and the rest of the department.
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