Batavia PD

Officer Pete Flanagan, Batavia PD, pictured at right, presents $600 in Tops gift cards to Caryn Dilandro, director of the PTSD Clinic at the VA Hospital in Batavia, and Michael Swartz, director of the VA for Western New York.

Dilandro said the gift cards will be used by residents of the PTSD clinic to make one of their regular family meals -- where they all cook together and dine together, sometimes as a picnic or a BBQ.

Flanagan said the donation is the result of his desire to grow a beard. A year ago, he asked Chief Shawn Heubusch if he ran the GLOW Cup in full uniform if he could grow a beard for a year. Heubusch said he would think about it. This year, Flanagan asked again. This time, Heubusch told him he needed to turn it into a fundraiser and told him to pick the charity.

Flanagan picked the PTSD Clinic because last year he and some other officers weren't able to compete in The Murph through Batavia Cross Training, which was a fundraiser for the clinic, because of injuries.

Each of the participating officers ran in uniform in the GLOW cup and contributed $100 each to the cause. Besides Flanagan, they are Asst. Chief Todd Crossett, Officer Chad Richards, Det. Matt Wojtaszczyk, Det. Eric Hill, and Officer Marc Lawrence.

Press release from the City of Batavia Police Department:

Thursday, Aug. 2, the sixth annual GLOW Corporate Challenge will be starting out at 6 p.m. on Richmond Avenue in front of the NYS School for the Blind.

Starting at approximately 5:30 p.m., until approximately 6:15 p.m.,, Richmond Avenue will be closed from Prospect Avenue to Bank Street for the start of the GLOW Corporate Cup.

The race is expected to have a large group of runners and walkers in the area. The run will take place in the North-East sector of the City.

Vehicles traveling in the area should expect extended delays while runners and walkers are in the area. Please plan accordingly or make alternative travel routes to avoid the area.

Anyone with information in reference to any suspicious activity are encouraged to contact the Batavia Police Department at 585-345-6350, the confidential tip line at 585-345-6370 or online here.

The police department's pitch for a military-surplus armored personnel carrier got a favorable hearing from the Batavia City Council on Monday evening during a conference meeting.

The council will be asked to approve an application from the city for such a vehicle, an MRAP (Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected), through the military's program for releasing decommissioned equipment to civilian law enforcement.

Chief Police Shawn Heubusch opened the meeting by providing background on the Emergency Response Team and explaining how such a vehicle might be used in the county.

The ERT was formed as a city-only unit in 1997. County deputies joined the unit in 2007.

The purpose of the ERT is to respond to situations that are beyond the capability of routine patrols, such as high-risk warrants and arrests, barricaded subjects and hostage situations.

Currently, the transport vehicle for ERT is a 2010 Ford Cube Fan. It is not four-wheel drive, is not a rescue vehicle, and offers no ballistic protection.

On Dec. 1, 2016 when Kyle Johnson killed a neighbor on Selden Road, set his own house on fire, and then fired on responding emergency personnel, one factor in bringing the situation to a peaceful conclusion was a Monore County officer happened to hear the police traffic on his emergency radio that morning and took matters into his own hands to muster his county's SWAT team and their two armored vehicles to assist.

It was one of those vehicles that were able to get close enough to Johnson, as he paced near his smoldering home with a long rifle in his hands, Heubusch said, that enabled the negotiations that led to his eventual surrender.

Sgt. Chris Camp is the current ERT commander, responsible for all of the administration and training of the unit, and he researched the options for an armored vehicle.

He spec'd out a Lenco Bearcat, which is a purpose-made armored rescue vehicle for law enforcement. The base price for a new one is $195,000. Camp added in options he thought were needed for our climate and terrain and that brought the price up to $255,000.

He then researched the option of the city acquiring a surplus MRAP. The military gives away these $650,000 vehicles to law enforcement agencies once they've been decommissioned. Livingstone, Saratoga and Warren counties in New York have all received one.

Most likely, a decommissioned vehicle will come available in California, which was the case for Livingston and Saratoga, making the transportation cost about $7,000 (Warran was lucky and retrieved its vehicle from Ft. Drum).

Outfitting the vehicle for law enforcement would cost from $7,000 to $12,000.

There may also be repairs necessary -- some of these vehicles have been sitting for awhile and need new batteries and tires. Livingston had to replace the fuel system on its MRAP.

Fortunately, the chassis and engines are International, just like the city's current dump trucks, so local vehicle maintenance can handle them, but there's also a former military MRAP mechanic working for Livingston County.

The vehicle would need to be stored, by government regulation, in a secure location. That would mean it couldn't be parked behind the police station, as the current transportation van is, so it would be stored at the city's vehicle maintence yard or at the Sheriff's Office, at least until, and if, Batavia PD gets a new headquarters.

County legislators Gary Maha and Marianne Clattenburg, along with Sheriff Bill Sheron, where in the audience for the presentation.

Heubusch indicated he expects the County to split the costs of the MRAP but the Legislature would need to approve the expense.

The city has in its asset forfeiture fund a little more than $10,000. That money can only be used for law enforcement purposes and Heubusch said he would anticipate using that money for the MRAP if one were awarded to the city.

Adding a heavily armored vehicle to Batavia PD's fleet of vehicles isn't about taking on a more military appearance, said Chief Shawn Heubusch. It's about saving lives. Even just one life. And at a price the city can afford: free.

Heubusch is preparing a proposal for the City Council so the police department can request a decommissioned, heavily armored vehicle from the U.S. military known as an MRAP, which stands for Mine-Resistant, Ambush-Protected.

"Do we need a military vehicle?" Heubusch said. "No. We need a Lenco Bearcat. We can’t afford a Lenco Bearcat so what we’re asking for is permission to go and ask a decommissioned MRAP to keep our guys out of harm's way when they enter a hostile situation."

The armor can stop penetration by a .50-caliber round and withstand heavy explosives.

"It’s not the military vehicle necessarily that we need," Heubusch said. "What we need is the ballistic protection."

Law enforcement agencies across the country are lining up for these vehicles as the military takes them out of service and gives them for free to law enforcement agencies and even fire departments.

A Lenco Bearcat costs $250,000. The MRAP is free. It can also do something the Lenco Bearcat can't do: drive into high water to assist in rescues.

"Are we getting shot at every day? Absolutely not," Heubusch said. "But the cost of these vehicles compared to the cost of someone’s life is incomparable."

The vehicle would be used by the county's Emergency Response Team, which is headquartered at Batavia PD. Heubusch discussed the idea briefly with the City Council at Monday's meeting and in response to questions said maintenance of the vehicle would be comparable to a snow plow or dump truck and that while no special license is required for a police officer to drive it, there is a recommended instruction course for drivers of the  vehicle.

He'll bring forward a formal proposal for the city to submit an application for the vehicle at a future council meeting.

Heubusch acknowledged that some people might view obtaining such a vehicle as "militarization of civilian police" and he understands the optics of it but said that is a secondary concern.

"We certainly understand that aspect of it, but the brass tacks of it is, if it can save a life, it can save a life," Heubusch said. "I don’t care what it looks like, nor should anyone else if there’s an active shooter in your neighborhood and we need to get you out of your house so no one is injured in your home."

He added, "we’re not going to be patrolling in this vehicle. It’s not an offensive vehicle that is going to have gun turrets mounted on it or anything like that by any estimation. It’s vehicle that would be used, again, as a rescue vehicle, whether it’s to rescue a police officer or civilians from a hostile situation or a natural disaster."

For at least five years the City of Batavia has been trying to figure out what to do about its aging, deteriorating, ill-suited police headquarters and Monday night the topic was once again on the City Council agenda.

Consultant John Brice, of Geddis Architects, presented the council with three broad options, with price tags in excess of $7 million up to nearly $10 million, and each with their own challenges and pitfalls, not the least of which is the time it will take to complete whichever option is chosen.

Option 1: Remodel the existing headquarters with a public entrance in the back, using all existing floors, without too many significant changes to the floor plan.

Option 2: Remodel the existing headquarters with a public entrance in the front, all police operations confined to the basement and the first floor, the addition of an enclosed sally port and separate entrance in the back of the building for police officers and detained subjects.

Option 3: Build a new police headquarters on a parcel of land yet to be determined.

In 2014, the City formed a task force to study options for a new police headquarters. The task force considered options for remodeling the current location and reviewed a half dozen parcels in the city for a possible new building. The task force favored a location on Swan Street but the city was apparently unable to acquire the property.

The issue languished until now. 

The two remodeling options presented last night were revised from proposals presented in 2014 and the new building plan was a generic layout for a single-story building that would likely change based on the configuration of any parcel of land eventually selected for the building.

Both council members Kathy Briggs and Patti Pacino said it's time to stop stalling, so they favored Option 2 as the seemingly most expedient while also most completely addressing problems with the current headquarters.

"We need to stop kicking the can down the road," Pacino said.

"That's right," Briggs said.

She expressed concern that while it might be nice to build new, the city has already been down the path of trying to find an appropriate location and didn't really find a suitable spot.

Eugene Jankowski, council president, said he was open to Option 2 but favored option 3, building new.

"The first option doesn't do much," Jankowski said. "It might save us a little money but it doesn't solve any issues."

The current police headquarters was built 150 years ago as a mansion for one of Batavia's well-to-do families, the Brisbanes (James Brisbane was one of the founders of Batavia. His son, Albert Brisbane, was a nationally known utopian in the 19th century, and one of his sons, Arthur Brisbane (who married a Cary, another of Batavia's early wealthy families) went on to become one of the nation's most famous newspaper editors, working for William Randolph Hearst in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is buried in Batavia.)

The Brisbane mansion eventually became City Hall. When City Centre was built, Batavia PD became sole occupants of the building.

Brice outlined the problems with the Brisbane Mansion: The building's heating, air conditioning, plumbing and electrical are out of date and in need of replacement; its public entrance is up a flight of stairs and doesn't offer good visibility for staff inside; the entrance is less than ideally secure because there is no separate entrance for officers and any detainees they bring in; the building is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"As soon as you touch any of the major systems you must make the building ADA compliant," Brice said. "That's New York State law."

Option 1 doesn't address all those issues. While it would upgrade HVAC, electrical and plumbing, and provide a more visible public entrance but the entrance would still be shared by the general public, police, and criminal suspects. It doesn't provide separate parking for police vehicles and public vehicles. It addresses ADA issues but the elevator would need to do more than just stop on three different floors; it would need to be able to stop on the levels in between floors (the second floor is really five different levels).

The total estimated cost for Option 1 is $6.9 million.

Option 2 puts the public entrance at the front of the building and adds a sally port at the back for safe prisoner transport and storage of the department's emergency response vehicle. It puts all police operations in the basement and on the first floor and leaves the second floor vacant (though the new elevator would still go to the second floor). It addresses many of the safety issues and upgrade issues with the building, but it's still a 150-year-old building originally built as a residence.

The estimated cost is more than $9 million.

Option 3 addresses all of the logistical and safety issues that can't be fixed with a remodel of the existing building but the biggest issue is: where to put it?

The estimated cost is close to $10 million.

"The facility we’re in now is 150 years old," said Chief Shawn Heubusch. "It’s still going to be 150 years old no matter what we do to it. It was not purpose-built as a police station or as a government facility. It’s purpose-built as a residence. It’s been modified over the years but a new build covers all of the requirements we have."

From Batavia PD:

Parking enforcement has been suspended for residents whose driveways are being affected by the sidewalk construction.

Affected residents may park in the street but must follow all other parking regulations (ie. parking the correct way, not parking in a no parking area, etc.) until their driveways are usable again.

The snowfall was pretty heavy just before midnight, Saturday, Dec. 10, 1977.  That hour was shift change for Batavia PD then and Officer Douglas D. Squires manned the only patrol car on the road in the city. He was parked at Main and Oak watching the green, yellow, and red lights change, swirls of big snowflakes fall, and any cars that might pass through the intersection.

Down the street, at Quik-N-EZ Food Mart, 40 Oak St., employees were about to close up for the night. The little shop had recently hired some new employees and Squires remembers that two or three times that week they had accidentally triggered the alarms while trying to get them set.

Carl Salway, the only law enforcement officer shot in the line of duty in Genesee County

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A police-involved shooting is generally defined as a police officer discharging his weapon in the line of duty.

Based on a search of historical records and conversations with law enforcement professionals in the county who have worked locally for decades, it appears that Officer Doug Squires and Deputy Ryan Young are the only LEOs in Genesee County history to be involved in an officer-involved shooting.

It also appears that only once in Genesee County history has a police officer been shot.

In August 1921, Officer Carl Salway, Batavia PD, came within an inch of his life, literally.

That night, shortly after 10 p.m., he stumbled upon a burglary in progress of an auto storage warehouse owned by Raymond M. Walker at 241 West Main St., Batavia. 

Inside were Harold W. Pratt, 27, of 128 South Main St., Batavia, who owned a cider mill, and Earl Lee Smith, of Law St., Batavia, 27. 

Pratt shot Salway with a .45-caliber automatic pistol. The bullet passed through Salway's chest, just missing his heart.

Salway would eventually retire from the police department, but not before serving a suspension in 1931 for insubordination.

Squires, now 64, grew up in Batavia but graduated from Byron-Bergen High School. That night in 1977, he was more than a year into his five-year stint with the Batavia Police Department. He would go on to work security for Kodak before moving into sales and marketing with the company. As he moved up, Kodak moved him, first to Orlando, then Birmingham, then Atlanta, and eventually Charlotte, N.C., in 1989, where he lives in with his wife. 

He didn't realize until told today that what would transpire just before midnight that Saturday night in 1977 would stand as the only officer-involved shooting in Genesee County history until two nights ago.

As the minutes drew tighter toward midnight that night, a Batavia dispatcher informed Squires the alarm at the Quik-N-EZ Food Mart had gone off again.

Squires put his patrol car in drive and drove down Oak. As he approached, he turned off his lights. The store lights were on and the parking lot was empty.

As he pulled up, he remembered a news story out of Buffalo from a couple of days before. Two police officers had been shot and killed responding to a robbery alarm at the Holiday Inn by the airport.

"I remembered that when that alarm came in for that store, that incident came to mind and I thought I’m not going to just wheel in there and think they made a mistake and set off the alarm again," Squires said.

As he approached, he unholstered his revolver.

Peering in, he saw two female employees, Edwina Heschke, of Batavia, and Debbie Maskell, of Indian Falls, lying face down on the floor. Behind the counter, pulling money out of the cash register was a male in a ski mask.

The man in the ski mask turned out to be William M. Timoney, who was 34 at the time, recently released from Attica on parole, and a resident of Dewey Avenue. 

Squires pushed the door open, identified himself and yelled, "freeze."

Timoney looked at Squires, pointed his 14 shot .22 long rifle calibre handgun with a full magazine, at the back of one of the clerks and told Squires, "Pig, you get out of here or they’re both as good as dead."

"At that point," Squires said, "the gloves were off. He's threatening a third party with physical harm and possibly their lives."

Squires fired at Timoney and missed. Timoney ducked behind a counter, popped up again and Squires fired again, missing again.  

As the gun battle ensued, another Batavia officer, D.G. Kopper, arrived as back up.

When the perp's head popped up from behind the counter again, between the cash register and orange drink dispenser, Squires fired again. This time he caught Timoney in the face, the bullet hitting his cheek and ear.

"He was quite a mess," Squires said. "He lost his right ear. The shot picked him right up off the floor. The money went one way and the gun went another."

As Sheriff William Sheron noted today, police officers go to work every shift knowing this may be the eight hours where they get shot at or they may have to shoot another person.

Just because there have only been two incidents in Genesee County history, and now three, where an officer either shot someone or has been shot himself, doesn't mean it isn't an ever-present danger. Every chance encounter, when you're in law enforcement, can turn deadly with very little warning.

“Law enforcement officers go to work every day knowing that they may be required to sacrifice their own lives, or take the life of another human being in order to fulfill their obligation of protecting the citizens of our communities," Sheron said.

Two nights ago, Deputy Ryan Young faced the challenging decision of whether to fire his weapon after responding to a report of a disturbance and shots fired at the Log Cabin Restaurant in Indian Falls. As Young and other officers pulled into the parking lot, Keith Kent, 61, of Albion, fired another shot. Young and his colleagues yelled at Kent to drop his weapon. He didn't. Rather, Kent turned -- according to information available so far -- toward Young and pointed his pistol at him.

As Undersheriff Gregory Walker put it describing the incident while talking with reporters on Gilmore Road early Thursday morning, "Our officer did take the shot and the suspect was killed."

Timoney, the 1977 robber, was lucky. He lived. After he was shot, Squires and Kopper rushed to his side and cuffed him.

Timoney, who used a gun stolen from a home in Alexander, was treated at St. Jerome Hospital then hauled before County Court Judge Glenn R. Morton, charged with robbery in the first degree along with several other charges, then jailed without bail.

The district attorney in 1977 was Ronald L. Fancher. He settled on a plea agreement for Timoney, attempted robbery.  Timoney entered a  guilty plea and was sent to state prison for less than four years. He was released in 1982. By 1984, he was back in prison for an armed robbery in Queens, serving a maximum 15-year sentence. He was released in 2000.  In 2000, his name pops up in a couple of stories in the New York Daily News about homeless people in the city.

Squires described shooting Timoney as "a surreal experience." He was put on paid leave and he had to turn over his revolver for ballistic testing. 

"I had a lot of sleepless nights," he said. "It was quite an experience. Most police officers never even draw their weapons or let alone fire their weapons over a 20 or 30-year career. Here, I'm on the job for at most a couple of years and I run into something like this."

Eugene Jankowski, who served Batavia PD for more than 35 years, starting in 1978, was a corrections officer in the Genesee County Jail the night Squires shot Timoney.  He remembers Timoney coming into the jail with a big bandage on his ear.

Now City Council president, Jankowski is a firearms expert and led in the creation of the county's Emergency Response Team.

Even though Jankowski never encountered a situation that escalated into the need to shoot somebody, he faced many life-and-death decisions during his career. Training and experience are critical to helping officers handle the unexpected, he said.

"I’ve found scenario-based firearms and defensive tactics training, combined with state law and department policy, was the most beneficial to me," Jankowski said. "That, along with real-life experience helped me to physically and mentally prepare for many types of use-of-force encounters."

Squires said he thinks about Dec. 10, 1977, every time another police shooting hits the news.  

"Until you're a police officer and you go through it, there's really not much you can think about to know what it's like," he said.

His advice for Young or other officers who must fire their weapon at suspects: Don't second guess yourself.

"And don't let others second guess you. Just know that it's your job and you have to do what you have to do to defend yourself or innocent bystanders. You have to know what you did is right."

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department, along with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Genesee County Probation, Le Roy Police Department and the New York State Troopers – Troop A, would like to thank Dave Lumberg, Owner/Operator of Tim Horton’s (20 Main St.) for their daily donation of fresh, hot, coffee to our officers and instructors during the last two weeks of Active Threat Training, which is concluding today. The added level of convenience aided in the productivity of the training.

Dealing with active threats is the focus of two weeks of training hosted by Batavia PD in a vacant building at the NYS School for the Blind.

Officers from Batavia PD, the Sheriff's Office, State Police, and Probation are participating.

It's unfortunate, said Chief Shawn Heubusch, that these days, officers have to be ever ready, either on their own or as part of a team, to deal with somebody who is threatening the lives of other people.

"We learned a lot from the situation at Columbine," Heubusch said. "It used to be, surround, create a perimeter, wait for the cavalry to arrive, and then go in. That is no longer the norm. If there is an active shooter or active threat going on, you may be the first officer there, you may be the only officer there, but you’re going in and you’re going to take care of that threat to the best of your ability.

"That thinking has changed dramatically from the early or late '90s when these situations, unfortunately, became more prevalent."

The purpose of multi-agency training is to ensure all officers who respond to an active threat situation have gone through the same training because in a small county where law enforcement resources are limited, officers from agencies will be working together.

"We’re not a big huge department," Heubusch said. "We don’t have a 100 cops on the force. We don’t have 50 cops on the street at any given time. There may not be even 50 officers in the county, or less than that, at any given time, so you’re going to get what shows up."

In the training scenarios, officers from different agencies are working side by side as much as possible so they're learning the same tactics at the same pace.

"You just never know who is going to be available in a given situation and you’ve got to be familiar with tactics and on the same page," said Officer Marc Lawrence.

The training consists of classroom instruction followed by walk-throughs of techniques using simulated weapons and then "force-on-force" training, where offices are using weapons with clips filled with paintballs.

That's perhaps the most valuable training both Heubusch and Lawrence said and something officers don't get often through the normal course of training.

"When you go through the academy or you go to the range, it’s kind of a static environment," Heubusch said. "You’re shooting for the seven-yard line or the 15-yard line or something like that. This puts you in a real-life scenario situation where your energy is up, your adrenaline might be pumping a little bit. (Force-on-force) gives you more of a real-life look at things."

There's a price to pay, which keeps you on an edge, when there are real projectiles flying, Lawrence said.

"You may get shot with a simulation round," Lawrence said. "They hurt. They leave welts. And you get shot if you don’t do your job as a police officer. If you don’t clear a room properly, you may get shot."

Press release:

Starting on April 2nd, the Batavia Police Department will be hosting two weeks of multi-agency Active Shooter Response Training with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, Genesee County Probation Department, Leroy Police Department and the New York State Police – Troop A.

The training will be held at the New York State School for the Blind, Hamilton Hall building located at 2A Richmond Ave. in the City of Batavia.

The training will emphasize multi-officer and single officer tactical responses used to make entry into buildings and address the threats. Training instructors from all four agencies will be teaching during this multi-agency event.

The Departments wish to thank the NYS School for the Blind for providing the space for the departments to complete this important training.

From the City of Batavia Police Department:

Have you ever been a victim of a crime -- such as burglary, identity theft, assault, discrimination, abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, etc.? Do you work with crime victims? Are you over the age of 18 and speak English? We want to hear from you!

The Crime Victims Legal Network is a partnership of organizations working to create a website that will connect victims of crime with civil legal information and the assistance they need.

CVLN wants to make sure the website is easy to use, helpful, and appealing to the people who it is designed to serve, namely victims of crime and the professionals who work with them.

The network can use your help. Please come to a Focus Group from noon to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27, at the Oakfield Town Hall, 3219 Drake St., Oakfield.

RSVP to Susan Diesel, Ph.D.: sdietzel@albany.edu

Space is limited. Light refreshments will be provided.

Press release:

The Batavia Police Department has closed out the Mo-Vember / Don’t Shave December campaigns for 2017. The department was able to raise $1,320 for Genesee Cancer Assistance during Mo-Vember.

Don’t Shave December raised more than $600 for Genesee County Sheriff’s Jail Deputy Nicholas Bender and his family. Members of the department would like to thank the community for their support and donations.

The Mo-Vember Worldwide Campaign started in 2003 in Australia and has since grown. Mo-vember was started to bring awareness to men’s health; specifically, prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health and suicide prevention.

Submitted photo: Sue Underwood, director of Genesee Cancer Assistance, receives a donation check from Officer Frank Klimjack. Also pictured, Sgt. Chris Camp, Officer Jason Davis, Chief Shawn Heubusch, and Officer James Prusak.

Students in Stephanie Clark's first-grade class at Oakfield-Alabama Elementary School visited Batavia PD last night to drop off Christmas presents to thank the police officers for their service to the community.

The presents were sponsored by the Buffalo Bills as part of the team's Classroom Champions program.

The program pairs up Buffalo Bills players with classes of schoolchildren throughout WNY. The mentors for Clark's class this year have been Colton Schmidt and Preston Brown. Throughout the year, Schmidt and Brown had sent monthly lessons for the students to complete. On Tuesday, the students got to travel to Buffalo to meet the players.

Press release: 

On Dec. 9th, members of the Batavia Police Department, the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, and New York State Police Troop A, will be participating in the third annual “Shop with a Cop” event at Walmart on Veterans Memorial Drive. 

Grant money from Walmart, designated specifically for this event was distributed equally to all three organizations. The schools within Genesee County assisted in choosing the children. 

The City of Batavia Police Benevolent Association, Genesee County Deputy Sheriff’s Association, City of Batavia CSEA members, the City’s “Jeans for Friday” program, Department of Public Works (AFSCME) Union, and H.E. Turner & Co. Inc. Funeral Home of Batavia & Bergen raised additional funds which enabled 20 extra children to participate. 

A total of 50 children were invited to participate in this year’s event. Once at Walmart, the children will take photographs with Santa Claus and meet with their individual "Cop."

Walmart graciously hosts the event, allocates employees specifically for the event, and also donates gift wrapping materials. Gift wrapping will be completed by the Young Adults Group from Batavia City Church, members of the Batavia Police Explorer’s Post and family members from Batavia Police Department and Genesee County Sheriff’s Office.

The Batavia Police Department, Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York State Police Troop A, would like to thank Walmart for their generosity and assistance to make this a great event. We would also like to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season.

Photo: File photo.

Batavia High Schoold kicked off its monthly "Lunch with a Pro" series today, with the first career-minded guests coming from the Batavia PD.

Lunch with a Pro, organized by Anita Strollo, is a chance for high school students to learn firsthand from people in the community about different career opportunities.

Today, students who took time out during their lunch period, enjoyed pizza while touring the department's emergency response vehicle and talking with officers about what it takes to become a police officer and what it's like once you make it.

With a grant from the state's Division of Criminal Justice Services, Batavia PD will be able to outfit all officers with body cameras, Chief Shawn Heubusch told the City Council on Monday night.

In all, the $10,000 grant combined with funds already appropriated in the city budget will mean the department has a total of 32 body cameras.

"They're absolutely valuable," Heubusch said after the meeting. "I wouldn't be asking for 32 of them if I didn't think they were valuable. As far as from a prosecutorial standpoint, it collects evidence and firsthand accounts when this story is unfolding. So from that perspective, it helps in the prosecution aspect of a crime. When you're dealing with a victim or a suspect you have that person on film saying what they said, acting the way that they were acting at that point in time, and that could be introduced into evidence or it can be used to get a plea deal."

Twice the cameras have helped clear up accusations against officers by suspects, Heubusch said, so they've proven valuable in that respect as well.

"I think we see a lot more positive reaction (from officers) because they were very suspicious at first," Heubusch said. "They wanted to know, 'what are we getting ourselves into?' But the first time that they're dealing with the drunk alongside the road and they're able to go back and review that footage and see this is exactly what this person said, this is exactly how the person acted, and then present that in court, they see it's been very beneficial, or in the instance where somebody comes forward with a false claim against them."

Officers are supposed to activate the camera anytime they are responding to a "hot" call, Heubusch said. The camera should be on anytime there is an enforcement action.

Of course, Heubusch said, officers are human and in an active situation, turning on a body camera is not always the first thing that comes to mind.

"That's the first thing you forget to do is turn that on," Heubusch said. "In most cases that is the first thing you want to see, you want to see that turned on. So we understand there's a human element as well. So you know there is enough room within the policy to give the officers some individual leeway."

Officers also have the discretion to turn the camera off in situations where privacy is paramount, such as cases involving juveniles, especially as victims, confidential informants, or sensitive domestic calls, depending on the circumstances.

Batavia Police Officer Arick Perkins was recognized at the City Council meeting Monday night for his quick action the night of July 18 to render first aid to a stabbing victim on East Main Street.

Perkins found a victim with multiple stab wounds who was bleeding uncontrollably. Perkins applied a tourniquet to the victim's arm in an effort to stop the bleeding until EMS personnel arrived. 

For this life-saving effort, Perkins was recognized with a resolution of the City Council, a Batavia PD Life-Saver Award and an award from the University of Rochester Kessler Trauma Center.

Press release:

The City of Batavia and The University of Rochester Kessler Trauma Center will be recognizing City of Batavia Police Officer Arick Perkins on Aug. 14th at the Batavia City Council Meeting for his recent life-saving efforts performed on a victim with uncontrolled bleeding.

Shortly after midnight on July 18 Officer Perkins, along with other members of the City of Batavia Police Department, responded to a reported stabbing incident on East Main Street in the City. Upon Officer Perkins’ arrival, he located a subject down in the driveway that had a severe injury to his arm and was bleeding uncontrollably. Officer Perkins reacted quickly and applied a tourniquet to the victim’s arm in an effort to stop the bleeding while awaiting EMS. Without Officer Perkins’ quick response and tourniquet application, the outcome of the incident could have been much worse.

According to the University of Rochester Kessler Trauma Center uncontrolled hemorrhage continues to be the highest cause of preventable death in injured patients. Bleeding-control skills performed by bystanders and first responders, such as done by Officer Perkins, are being used to save lives on a daily basis.

Officer Perkins is being recognized for his quick action and dedication to service.

“Stop The Bleed” is a program created by the American College of Surgeons and is endorsed by the Federal Government as part of domestic preparedness. The course is designed to teach the public how to control life threatening bleeding with or without specialized equipment. There are many classes available to the public. Information about the program can be found at bleedingcontrol.org or by contacting the Kessler Trauma Center via e-mail at trauma@urmc.rochester.edu.

Press release:

Batavia High School Student Government in conjunction with Batavia Police Department raised $800 Monday night. The money will be used to give back to a BHS student or students in the form of a scholarship at awards night in the spring awarded to seniors looking into law enforcement or criminal justice.

This is the second year of the event and coincides with the high school "Snowcoming" week where BHS celebrates winter and winter athletes. The senior Class of 2017 beat out staff members and the Police Department team and will be awarded the trophy during the winter pep assembly later this week. 

Top photo: Submitted photo; photos below, by Howard Owens.