Former officer
contends run for office triggered suspension in gun-grab case
By Brendan J.
Lyons
Updated 7:21 am,
Friday, September 5, 20
A former town
police officer who is running for public office quit his job last month after
being suspended by Waterford Public Safety Commissioner John Tanchak as
questions surfaced about the arrest of a man charged with trying to grab the
officer's gun.
Video of the
arrest was captured by a dashboard police camera that officials said showed the
incident didn't unfold as the officer and a witness claimed. The video has
prompted prosecutors to say they will dismiss the charge against the suspect,
while the witness, a local funeral home director, supports the officer's
account.
The former
officer, Jeremy W. Connors, 37, who is running for a Halfmoon Town Board seat,
said the witness signed a statement backing up his version of what unfolded.
Connors believes he was targeted for discipline, in part, because of
dissatisfaction by some town leaders with his decision to enter politics, and
without seeking their approval beforehand. Connors was a Waterford police
officer for nine years until his resignation following the Aug. 4 traffic stop.
"I have a
stellar reputation ... a stellar background in law enforcement," Connors
said. "I've been in law enforcement for 14 years and the guy came at me,
plain and simple. ... I felt his hand toward my right-waist side, which was my
gun side. That's when it became for real. It was not just a resisting arrest at
that point."
The motorist, Mark
J. Riley of Troy, was charged with attempted robbery, a felony, and resisting
arrest, a misdemeanor.
He was also issued
four tickets, including driving with a revoked registration and following too
closely.
Connors said he
pulled Riley over for tailgating another motorist, and the traffic stop
spiraled out of control when he went to handcuff Riley.
Attorneys for the
town, citing the ongoing criminal case, declined to release a copy of the
video.
But officials with
the Saratoga County district attorney's office said they will move to dismiss
the felony robbery charge, which related to the suspect's alleged grab at
Connors' gun, because of what they saw on the video.
"Based upon
our review of that, that information was turned over immediately to the defense
attorney, as soon as we got it, and we indicated that based upon that review we
believe it may be considered exculpatory evidence in favor of the
defendant," First Assistant District Attorney Karen A. Heggen said,
declining to elaborate because the case is pending. "I think the focus of
the prosecution is not going to be on the attempted robbery, but on the other
charges pending from that incident."
Waterford
Supervisor Jack Lawler said the town's decision to suspend Connors had nothing
to do with politics.
"Mr. Connors
was suspended for 30 days by Public Safety Commissioner John Tanchak and he
faced additional possible disciplinary action," Lawler said. "Mr.
Connors chose not to avail himself of his right to contest the suspension, or
to go forward and defend himself from the pending disciplinary action. Mr.
Connors instead chose to resign his position as a police officer in the town of
Waterford."
Tanchak, a former
Albany police officer, did not respond to a request for comment. He suspended
Connors last month after reviewing the video.
Lawler said he
also reviewed the video of the arrest but declined comment on what he saw,
adding it may become public when the criminal case is resolved. But Lawler
insisted that town leaders had known for months about Connors' candidacy in
Halfmoon and had no issue with it.
The supervisor
noted that both he and Connors are Republicans. Connors was endorsed by the
Halfmoon Republican Committee and filed nominating petitions two months ago to
be on the ballot in November.
"In fact, I
had wished him good luck in his political career," Lawler said, recounting
a brief conversation when he ran into Connors over the summer at a party.
"One has nothing to do with the other. ... He wasn't required to seek
permission. There was nothing in the contract that would have prevented him
from running for office. His employment has nothing to do, as far as we were
concerned, with his political aspirations."
Connors' version
of the arrest is backed by Walter J. DeWitt of Watervliet, who signed a written
statement indicating Riley, a burly construction worker, fought hard as the
officer tried to handcuff him and then tried to grab the officer's handgun,
according to court records. DeWitt, a funeral director, said that he pulled his
vehicle over and went to the officer's aid as he drove home from work along
Middletown Road.
"I thought he
had the officer's gun," DeWitt said. "I honestly believed that he was
going to murder the officer and then turn the gun on me."
DeWitt said Riley
"did a spin move" as Connors tried to handcuff him. "It was
definitely an attempt for him going after the gun, no doubt in my mind,"
Dewitt added. During the struggle, an ammunition clip on Connors' belt fell to
the ground and DeWitt said he picked it up for Connors after Riley was placed
in a patrol car.
Former Hoosick
Falls Police Chief Bob Whalen, who supervised Connors when he worked in that
department for several years prior to joining the Waterford force, supported
Connors. "I would trust him with my family's life.
"He's
probably one of the best officers I ever had working for me," Whalen said.
Riley's attorney,
Robert W. Pulsifer of Wilton, said his client has no violent criminal history
and the video supports Riley's version of the incident.
"There is
nothing on that video that shows any attempt to reach for a weapon,"
Pulsifer said. "This is a decent guy, and this is an unfortunate traffic
stop that maybe the police officer was a little too heavy-handed about."
