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Frank Capuano shared this photo of last night's sunset that he took in Stafford.

The first meeting of Batavia's Police Collaboration Advisory Stakeholder Group was largely informational, with most of the conversation led by Police Chief Shawn Heubusch on the history of policing, police training, and an introduction to the department's use of force policy.

Some members of the group asked questions or offered a short comment.

City Attorney George Van Ness led off the discussion with an overview of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order mandating such review committees -- called "stakeholder groups" -- for all municipalities in the state that operate a police agency.

The group is charged with reviewing all local police policies and procedures and making suggestions for possible revisions. The plan that comes out of the group's work will be forwarded to the City Council. The plan will be subject then to public input and comment. The council will be expected to review and potentially approve the plan. Once certified, the plan will be sent to the state's Office of Management and Budget.

The executive order states municipalities that fail to follow through by April 1 could lose state funding.

For more on the composition of the group, which is comprised of city officials, community members, and subject-area experts, click here.

The Evolution of Policing

Recalling policing's evolution, Heubusch started with officers walking the beat on night patrol in big cities checking that buildings were secure and dealing with vagrants and drunks. Soon, officers took on the job of investigating crimes. Then when cars became common, police officers were charged with traffic enforcement, with a later emphasis catching people driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.

In the 1990s, there was a big push for officers to deal with domestic violence, including mandatory arrests in some situations. Modern departments also employ officers to deal with juveniles. In the late 1990s, the war on drugs started and officers put more emphasis on finding people selling or taking drugs and arresting them. Now, officers put more emphasis on getting drug users into rehabilitation.

In Genesee County, police officers assist Genesee Justice with curfew checks.

Community policing has always been a part of a police officer's job, Heubusch said. Since he became chief in 2014, he started a community outreach committee in the department that looks for ways to connect police officers with community members. Programs include shop-with-a-cop, coffee-with-a-cop, and foot patrols.

Police officers also need training in dealing with mental health issues and conflict de-escalation.

More recently, police officers are called on to enforce pandemic-related regulations and quarantine violations.

And nearly all those police activities have corresponding paperwork for the officer to complete.

"That's kind of what modern policing looks like," Heubusch said. "It's a lot. It's one of the reasons going through the academy these says is so long, because there's so much to learn."

Heubusch went through the academy more than 20 years ago when the required training took 600 hours. Now it's 800 hours.

Once an officer graduates from the academy, the officer is required to have 640 hours of field training.

Body Cams, Use of Force Policy, Job-related Stress

A member of the group asked about the use of body cams and Heubusch said since 2014 all officers are required to wear a body cam. Activating the device requires the officer to click a button twice and they are supposed to turn it on for every interaction with citizens with exceptions for emergencies that require quick action from the officer.

Asked if there is an issue with officers forgetting to activate the camera, Heubusch said there have been very few times where the department has needed to investigate a complaint or needed video footage for evidence and supervisors discovered the camera has not been activated.

The discussion then moved to the next agenda item, Batavia's policy on Use of Force (you can read it for yourself on the city's website (pdf)).

While the chief discussed the policy briefly, group members are asked to read it before the next meeting, which will feature an in-depth discussion of the policy.

Heubusch noted that decisions about use of force are often split-second at best and in that time the officer must assess the threat level and what the legally appropriate amount of force is necessary to neutralize the threat.

"They have to use reasonable force given the circumstances right in front of them at that moment in time," Heubusch said.

To help officers be better prepared in stressful situations, they go through from eight to 16 hours of reality-based training every month.

Batavia PD puts officers through more reality-based training than most small police departments, Heubusch said, because the training carries some small risk of officers getting injured since it's a physical activity.

Community member Billy Blackshear asked about stress levels police officers faced and where that factored into training.

Heubusch said in recent years, there's greater awareness about job-related stress in law enforcement. The things they see, the situations they deal with, can take a toll.

"That's one reason 20 years is long enough to be on the job," Heubusch said. "That stuff compounds."

When officers are dealing with stress, either because of something that happened on the job or in their personal life, they are taken off of street patrol, Heubusch said.

The Rigors of the Hiring Process

In response to a group member's comment, Heubusch said because of retirements, the current police office is comprised of nearly half of the officers being hired in the past two years. Some of those officers had prior experience, but the average age of the force now is somewhere around 24 or 25 years old.

YWCA Executive Director Millie Tomidy-Pepper asked if officers are subjected to a background check before being hired. That started a long discussion about how officers are hired.

The state's civil service law will only allow the department to consider the people with the top three scores on the civil service exam.

There are exceptions that allow the department to consider a lower-scoring candidate, such as a candidate withdrawing an application, but those exceptions are few. Only in recent years has a police chief had the option of passing over a candidate who failed a psychological exam.

There is a criminal background check but only a felony conviction is disqualifying.

The candidate must complete a 28-page background check questionnaire. 

"You would be surprised how many candidates omit things that they don't think we'll find," Heubusch said.

A detective interviews each candidate. The background check includes contacting former employers and references as well as locating people the candidate didn't name as a reference. The neighborhoods where the officer once lived are canvassed for people who can share relevant information about the candidate. Former spouses and boyfriends or girlfriends are interviewed.

"Anybody we can speak to who can speak to the person's character, we want to talk with them," Heubusch said.

There is a credit history check and a social media check.

Then there is a psychological exam with a specialist in police officer duty in Rochester.

Then a panel interview.

Finally, the candidate must take a polygraph.

"If you don't pass the polygraph, you don't get a job offer," Heubusch said.

The whole process takes several weeks.

Victor Thomas, a community member and representative of Just Kings Social Club, said, "That sounds like a lot. It seems you almost have to be perfect to get a job." Then he got a laugh when he said, "I think you just explained to me why I didn't get in."

Heubusch said, "we're not looking for perfect people. We all have skeletons in our closets. What we're looking for are major issues."

The big problem with the process, Heubusch said, is the state law mandating the department to only consider the top three candidates from the civil service exam. There are often better candidates, including some from our local community, who are not among the top three scorers. He would like to see New York go to a system, like some other states, where the exam is "pass/fail," which would mean, perhaps, if 200 people took the exam, the police department could consider up to 100 candidates, including local candidates.

Community member Michael Henry asked if officers receive cultural awareness training. Heubusch said they do in the academy but he didn't have the curriculum with him.

Anibal Soler Jr., superintendent of Batavia City School District, noted that in none of the material provided to group members nor during the presentation was the issue of race mentioned and he suggested a discussion of race be included in any policy reform, training, and in hiring practices. 

City Church Pastor Marty Macdonald took exception to a comment by Heubusch that suggested past behavior was predictive of how a person might do as a police officer. He spoke at length about the ability of people grow, learn and reform.

Heubusch said he agreed and said his comment was meant to refer to references from former employers.

Blackshear commended the chief for his foresight, mentioning he met with Heubusch some years ago, in addressing community issues and trying to reach young people, including trying to recruit young people to a career in law enforcement.

Beyond Diversity -- Doing the Job Correctly with Accountability

Brandon Armstrong, a small business owner and also a member of Just Kings, said he was going to bring up what he thought would be an unpopular opinion: That the big issue was not the diversity of police departments, but the inability of police departments or the justice system to punish police officers who don't do their job the right way. He noted that there have been black police officers accused of acting just as bad as white police officers in other jurisdictions.

"We do need diversity but if somebody isn't doing the job right, they need to better held accountable for it," Armstrong said. "I don't care what color they are."

The opinion wasn't unpopular at all. Other group members said they agreed and nobody disagreed.

Anibal Soler Jr.

Shawn Heubusch

A motor-vehicle accident is reported on Main Street at Ellicott Street, in front of the Post Office.

A woman has a head laceration.

Three children are involved.

A second ambulance is requested to the scene.

City fire and Mercy EMS dispatched.

A passerby on South Lake Road and Townline Road in Bergen reports seeing three youths walking into a cemetery carrying political signs.

The caller is "not sure what they're doing," the dispatcher informed a deputy, who is responding.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was remembered and celebrated by area residents outside the Old Courthouse in Batavia on Tuesday evening as not only a champion of equal rights for women but for her fervent support for equal rights for all people.

Among the speakers, Millie Tomidy-Pepper, director of the YWCA, who celebrated Ginsburg's legacy as a fierce fighter for equality rights and justice.

"Time and time again," Tomidy-Pepper said, "each one of us here tonight has undeniably reaped the benefits of her actions."

Amy Martoche, a candidate for New York's Supreme Court, called Ginsburg an inspiration and that throughout her career, she's known that each day she goes to work, she is standing on the shoulders of Ginsburg.

"She was small in stature but a giant in every other way," Martoche said. "She had the brains and power to help those of us without power."

Consultant Ed Flynn led a City Centre Feasibility Study open house last night, which was an opportunity for community members to weigh in on the future of the mall.

We spoke with Rep. Chris Jacobs outside the new GOP headquarters at 214 Ellicott St., Batavia, on Saturday.

We asked him about his election opponent Nate McMurray trying to intimidate local reporters and Jacobs condemned such actions, so we asked if he would speak as forcefully against President Donald Trump praising violence against reporters and trying to intimidate reporters and Jacobs would only say that he would never engage in such behavior.  

We also fact checked a previous McMurray press release with Jacobs. In late July, McMurray attacked Jacobs for voting against renaming military bases that are named after former Confederate leaders. Jacobs said McMurray mischaracterized the bill and the vote.

Finally, we asked Jacobs if he supports withdrawing U.S. troops from Afghanistan. He does.

After the GOP headquarters opening on Saturday, we spoke with Assemblyman Steve Hawley about his effort to win another term representing the 139th Assembly District.

Mark Glogowski, candidate for the 139th Assembly District, was in Le Roy on Saturday and we conducted this short interview with him.

There were multiple factors to consider, Judge Charles Zambito said in County Court today, during the sentencing of James Tripp, a former emergency dispatcher accused of possessing more than 70 images of girls under age 16 of a sexual nature.

Tripp, on his own, completed counseling. He has avoided further similar transgressions over the past three years. He has a lifetime of service to the community. He has an ailing wife to care for. The Probation Department recommended a straight probation sentence, a recommendation Zambito noted is highly unusual in a pornography case. The department said Tripp is not a threat to the community.

However, "No victims are represented here in this case because none of the victim girls could be identified," Zambito said. "If their parents were here, I'm sure they would want me to send you to jail for as long as I can."

Then, Zambito said, he also consider the community's sense of justice and their perception of the judicial system.  

The Probation Department's recommendation wouldn't satisfy the community's sense that some punishment is appropriate in a child pornography case.  

Zambito also took into consideration both Tripp's service to the community -- which included decades of volunteer fire service -- and the expectation the public has for people who work in positions of responsibility. 

"Your position (as a highly decorated emergency dispatcher) cuts both ways," Zambito said. "Your position is also one of responsibility and one people respect and expect you to not just cooperate with the law, but to be above the law. All of us in this room are in that position."

Assistant District Attorney Kaitlynn Schmit recommended at least some jail time for Tripp. Under the terms of the plea deal, Tripp could be sentenced up to six months in jail. Schmit asked for three months.

Zambito wanted to know why she was asking for three months considering the probation department's recommendation and Schmit said while she took into consideration Tripp's service to the community and his apparent rehabilitation, she also considered the number of images possessed by Tripp on three devices, and the fact that on at least one occasion, he uploaded an image to a server, some length of jail time was appropriate.

Tripp's attorney, Clark Zimmerman, argued for the Probation Department's recommendation, saying his client was truly remorseful.

"This is a non-contact type of offense," Zimmerman said. "I’m not saying there are no victims. I’m saying in the scheme of things, it’s at the lower end of this and even with the number of image the prosecution mentions it is still on the low end of this."

The case against Tripp began in December 2017 when an image of a young girl was uploaded from a computer with Tripp's home IP address. State Police investigators obtained a search warrant for his home and executed it on Dec. 20, 2017. They found 70 images on three devices that could be identified as sexually explicit or suggestive images of girls under 16 and they found another 200 images where the girls were of indeterminate age. 

During his statement -- which he said would be brief but lasted more than 10 minutes -- Tripp said his quiet, family-oriented life changed on Dec. 17, 2017.

"Before the State Police had even left my residence, my life turned completely upside down," Tripp said.

A man who favored rum and Cokes -- he drank while downloading images, Schmit had said -- Tripp said he has been dry since the day troopers arrived on his doorstep.

He immediately entered a rehabilitation program at the Family Life Center.

He said he felt no animosity toward the State Police, toward his former employer, the Genesee County Sheriff's Office, or any of the people he considered friends who have stayed away from him since his arrest.

"If I have any animosity, it's for me, for my actions," Tripp said.

He recounted his career and his desire to serve the community and to raise his children to do the right thing.

"I screwed up," Tripp said. "There is no question about that. I have been trying since Dec. 17, 2017, to make things better for us again. It's not going to go away. It's there every day. Every day I think about it. I'm ashamed. I've been disgraced. I'm embarrassed. I'm anything you could think of. I'm embarrassed every day. I'm sorry for my wife, for my kids, for my work friends over the years. It's a battle every day for us."

He said he applied for gainful employment and revealed to each potential employer his pending charges. Two employers, he said, didn't hire him but one did. It was a part-time job he held for a little more than a year and then, just before the pandemic hit, his arrest was announced and he was fired.

He hasn't looked for work since while waiting for his case to be resolved.

"No one from any of the agencies I worked with has tried to talk with me, and rightfully so," Tripp said. "There are people who I worked with for 25 years and I've got to assume we had some sort of relationship, that they were friends. Everybody knows people talk.

"I'm not saying I'm not guilty but when the charges came out people read it and they formed their opinions. People read about me and conclude I'm the biggest jerk out there but from previous jobs, I can say, there are a lot more jerks than me out there."

Tripp said going forward, his focus is his wife and his family.

After Zambito sentenced Tripp, Zimmerman told Zambito that Tripp's wife would have no way to get home if Tripp went straight to jail from the courthouse.  Zambito agreed to let Tripp give his wife a ride home and ordered him back to the courthouse by 2 p.m. so he could be transported by deputies to the jail to begin his 90-day sentence.

He warned Tripp that if he didn't return on time, he would lose his sentencing cap.

The Batavian confirmed this afternoon that Tripp returned to the courthouse and was booked into the Genesee County Jail.

Duane Whitmer, candidate for the NY-27 election in November, made a campaign stop on Saturday at Sweet Betty's in Le Roy.

Local Republicans opened their campaign headquarters on Saturday at 214 Ellicott St., Batavia.

A group of local supporters of President Donald Trump say the Pledge of Allegiance before riding off in a "Trump Train" of five semi-trucks volunteers in Pembroke painted to read "Trump 2020." The five traliers were parked in strategic locations on Route 5 and Route 33 after the caravan.

Pembroke Town Park was filled with classic cars today -- perhaps more than ever -- for the 13th Annual Pembroke Corfu Darien Kiwanis Club Annual Car Cruise & Fall Festival.

Rep. Chris Jacobs and Assemblyman Steve Hawley were on hand for the opening ceremonies, to meet constituents, and admire the beautiful cars.

A group of area residents came together Saturday night to hold a vigil in Le Roy in memory of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who passed away Friday at age 87.

Ginsburg was appointed to the court in 1993 following an already distinguished legal career as an advocate for equal rights for women.

Photos by Philip Casper.

A possible serious ATV accident is reported in the area of 5946 W. Sweden Road, Bergen.

Bergen fire and ambulance along with Mercy EMS dispatched.

Ed Rath, running for State Senate, Rep. Chris Jacobs, also in the ballot for the NY-27 in November, and Assemblyman Steve Hawley, up for reelection stopped in Corfu this afternoon to check out a group of trailers that have been painted to support President Donald Trump's reelection bid.

The trailers are the project of a group of veterans, business leaders, farmers, truckers, and other community members who came together for many hours of work -- often into the night so a projector could be used to stencil the lettering -- to create the trucks.

Tomorrow at noon, the trailers will be positioned on Route 33 in Corfu, on Route 5 in East Pembroke, and on Route 5 in Bushville.

Longtime Corfu resident and dedicated community volunteer Dave Saleh was honored with the dedication of a new bench at the village hall this morning.

Saleh, who is battling cancer, now lives in Batavia, but he's never far from the hearts of Corfu residents and he's still only a phone call away when people have questions or need help with something.

An attorney by training, Saleh has used his legal expertise to help the Village and the volunteer fire department. In 1995, he helped lead the effort to create a fire district to support the department and relive the village of the expense. He's volunteered with the department for more than 40 years.

"He's always given of his time and energy to the people of the village," said Mayor Tom Sargent.

Saleh said he felt overwhelmed by the gesture.

"I raised my kids here," Saleh said. "I have a number of very close friends here who are near and dear to my heart. All of these people are close to my heart. I can't express the appreciation I feel for all the things they do for me."

A pair of luxury sports cars -- a 2007 Lotus Elise and a 2008 Lotus Elise California -- were involved in an accident at about 9:20 a.m. on Colby Road, Corfu, at the railroad crossing.

One of the drivers, from Clarence, said the Lotus doesn't have great clearance for going over railroad tracks so he slowed to go over the tracks and the driver behind him, from West Seneca, didn't notice him slow. The red car rear-ended the orange car, driving it off the road and into a utility pole.

The driver said, "I'm not upset by it. Accidents will happen." 

He figures insurance will cover the damage and nobody was hurt, and that's what really matters.

The two drivers, along with a third Lotus owner in the caravan, were on their way to Watkins Glen for a rally.

Submitted by JoAnne Meiser.