An internal investigation by state police into Trooper Brian Beardsley’s involvement in the May 22 death of a Northville man resulted in Beardsley leaving the state police last week, said state police Sgt. Kern Swoboda.
Swoboda declined to say whether Beardsley was fired or if he resigned, citing civil service laws that prevent disclosing the results of an internal personnel investigation.
But the findings from the investigation, which police officially ended, played a direct role in his leaving, he confirmed.
“Once Mr. Beardsley was no longer employed by our agency we didn’t have any reasons to go forward with any kind of investigation,” Swoboa said Wednesday.
Police charged Beardsley, 32, of Amsterdam, with leaving the scene of a fatal accident without reporting, a felony.
The Fulton County Sheriff’s Department said in a release that Beardsley’s girlfriend called 911 at 2:41 a.m. May 22 to report that she and Beardsley found “a body on the side of the roadway” as they were driving on County Route 110 in Broadalbin. When police arrived no one was on the scene.
The body was that of Chad Finch, whom coroners revealed died of injuries suffered when a truck hit him.
Beardsley was off duty on the morning of May 22 and driving a black 2008 Nissan pickup truck, which police determined had struck Finch.
The sheriff’s department, which is handling the criminal investigation of Beardsley, has worked with state police throughout their separate investigations, said Sheriff Thomas Lorey.
Any additional charges in the case will come out when a grand jury convenes at an unknown July date. Lorey said his office is waiting on the grand jury to see what it decides from the physical evidence collected at the scene.
The special prosecutor in the case, Hamilton County District Attorney James Curry, and Beardsley’s attorney, Ron Schur, could not be reached for comment immediately.
Categories: Schenectady County
