File 25

The New York State Sheriffs' Association

Volume 367

February 20, 2015

Thanks to our Diamond Partners

NYS Police Celebrates 202nd Basic School Session Graduation

Executive Director Kehoe meets with State Police Superintendent D'Amico and New York City Police Commissioner Bill Bratton prior to last week's State Police Graduation Ceremony.

Two hundred twenty six new Troopers were turned out last week upon the graduation of the 202nd Session of the New York State Police Basic School. This was one of the largest classes in recent years, but the Field Commander stated that it will barely keep up with anticipated attrition this year. One of the four new Troopers singled out for special recognition was Dominick T. Caito, who was given the Superintendent's Firearms Proficiency Award for attainment of the highest level of performance in all phases of his firearms training. (During training he fired an average score of 250 out of a possible 250). Trooper Caito, of Rochester, was formerly a member of the Monroe County Sheriff's Office. Executive Director Kehoe represented the Association at the graduation ceremony.

Police Officer Memorial Advisory Committee

The Police Officer Memorial Advisory Committee met last week to review submissions for inclusion on the Police Memorial Wall in Albany at the upcoming May 2015 ceremony. There were eight line of duty deaths in New York in 2014, not including World Trade Center related deaths. One of those was a submission for deceased Genesee County Deputy Sheriff, Frank G. Bordonaro, which submission was tabled awaiting further documentation. There were also 15 new submissions for line of duty deaths related to service at the 2001 World Trade Center and Freshkills sites. Additionally five "historical" submissions were reviewed and approved, including Oneida County Deputy Sheriff Charles J. Kammerlohr killed by bootleggers in a 1921 shootout; Yates County Undersheriff Ralph E. Legg killed as a passenger in a patrol car crash in 1958; and, Erie County Deputy Frederick W. Kaesser killed in 1925 when he entered a suspected gang headquarters in Lancaster, N.Y. Representing the Sheriffs' Association on the Advisory Committee were Executive Director Kehoe and Associate Counsel Alex Wilson.

Committee Reviews Correction Officer Basic Training Curriculum

Over 40 jail administrators and trainers met at the Onondaga County Jail this week to review the basic training program given to correction officers. The administrators discussed several enhancements to the training curriculum, most notably in the areas of ethics and attending to the medical and mental health needs of inmates. The group also discussed some executive level training programs for senior jail administrative staff and the use of on-line training programs for regular and periodic updates. The committee will make recommendations on the training course for jail staff to the Sheriff's Jail Committee, and if approved, to DCJS and to the Municipal Police Training Council.

Executive Director Meets with Governor's Deputy Secretary for Public Safety

Executive Director Kehoe met this week with the new Governor's Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, Terence O'Leary, to discuss Sheriffs' concerns over the proposal to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 18, along with other legislative matters. Secretary O'Leary was for 10 years a prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorney's Office specializing in drug cases, and more recently headed the NYS Department of Health's Bureau of Narcotics Enforcement for 4 years. Secretary O'Leary will be addressing our Winter Training Conference Monday morning and he looks forward to meeting all the Sheriffs.

NY State Police Superintendent Joe D'Amico Meets with Committee of Sheriffs

State Police Superintendent Joe D'Amico and Field Commander Patricia Groeber traveled to our Elk street office this week to discuss with a committee of Sheriffs several issues of concern to Sheriffs, including the rationale used in deploying new Troopers to the various counties, and the projected role of the State Police with respect to public school safety. Representing our Association at the meeting were our Executive Committee Chair Genesee County Sheriff Gary Maha, Livingston County Sheriff Tom Dougherty, Ontario County Sheriff Phil Povero, Yates Sheriff Ron Spike, Wayne County Sheriff Barry Virts and Executive Director Peter Kehoe. A cordial discussion of these and other issues was had and it seemed clear that the Superintendent and Field Commander understood the Sheriffs' concerns and were willing to take them into account in their decision making process. The Superintendent will be addressing our Winter training Conference next week and it is likely that he will touch on these subjects in his remarks. Also the Sheriffs who participated in the meeting will provide further details at the Conference.

Safety Tips/ Traffic Safety Initiatives:

St. Patrick's Day 2015 Drunk Driving Prevention Campaign

March 17, 2015

Sheriffs' Association and Institute

Programs 2015:

Sheriff's Annual

Winter Training Conference

Feb 22-25, 2015

The Desmond, Albany, NY

Basic Civil Schools

Phase 1 April 13-17

Phase 2 May 18-22

NYSSA Offices, Albany, NY

Victim Notification Conference

April 22

Holiday Inn Wolf Road, Albany, NY

Civil Supervisor Training Conference

May 11-13

Gideon Putnam, Saratoga Springs, NY

Undersheriffs Training Conference

June 8-10

Gideon Putnam, Saratoga Springs, NY

Sheriff's Annual

Summer Training Conference

July 13-17, 2015

Lake Placid, NY

Law Enforcement Supervisors

Training Conference

September 14 - 16

Gideon Putnam, Saratoga Springs, NY

Jail Administrators' Training Conference

September 28 - October 1

Gideon Putnam, Saratoga Springs, NY