I think perhaps the above Lyons article might be misdated, since the first article the TU had published by Lyons about Tuffey's status was evidently dated Sunday, May 24, 2009. Tuffey wasn't chief in February 20, 2011.
It's interesting that the City of Albany's police chief wasn't a police officer since 1996, the very same year that "Chief" J. "Frank" Wiley was appointed at the University at Albany, despite being a Baltimore, Maryland public schoolteacher and not a police officer in New York. The Times Union had done a whole series of articles addressing Tuffey's lack of credentials:
Gavin, Robert. "Tuffey taking time off with pay; Top cop takes action after Times Union report that he hasn't been sworn officer since 1996." Albany Times Union. May 27, 2009: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8108430
"Chief Tuffey takes a break." Albany Times Union. May 28, 2009: A12. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8113618
Lyons, Brendan J. "State limits role of Tuffey; Finding: He can stay as administrative chief or re-take basic police course." Albany Times Union. May 30, 2009: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8123024
Lyons, Brendan J. "Tuffey comes back on job; City says Albany police chief's personal handguns were in ''safekeeping'' for 10 years after he left department." Albany Times Union. June 11, 2009: D1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8187170
Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Albany top cop vows to stay; Police Chief James Tuffey says he is not leaving; Jennings offers support." Albany Times Union. June 12, 2009: D7. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8193666
Lyons, Brendan and Jordan Carleo-Evangelist. "The Fall of a Police Chief; Jim Tuffey was given the job of cleaning up Albany's streets. Now, he's out amid allegations that he used a racial slur." Albany Times Union. September 2, 2009: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8603557
LeBrun, Fred. "Time for Tuffey to speak out." Albany Times Union. September 6, 2009: C1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=8623762
To replace Tuffey, Mayor Jennings chose an insider, raising a question (stated below) as to why a search process was even conducted. While the Albany Times Union had looked into Tuffey's police credentials (which was good work, though might have been better to address years ago), it doesn't seem to have turned the same scrutiny on University at Albany Police Department "Chief" J. "Frank" Wiley. Albany Times Union publisher George Randolph Hearst III is the President of the Board of Directors of the University at Albany Foundation, something the Times Union rarely mentions when covering the University at Albany.
Our government in general seems to repeatedly forget to look into the credentials of the people it hires, or perhaps it chooses to overlook problems with credentials and is instead repeatedly forgetting that sometimes the media or the public will sometimes look into the matter. SUNY, for example, had hired as its University Counsel a man who hadn't passed the New York bar exam:
Brownstein, Andrew. "SUNY Lawyer flunks, resigns." Albany Times Union. May 26, 1999: B1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5990436
Chief Krokoff's police credentials do at least appear far better than "Chief" Wiley's. Krokoff is an MBA student at the University at Albany and Krokoff had previously obtained a BA in English from the University at Albany.
Krokoff was selected from a pool whittled down at the University at Albany; he has an appreciation for the buzzword "community policing," also much loved by the University at Albany Police Department; "community policing" was talked up by University at Albany professor David Bayley, following a public forum packed with about twenty-five University at Albany students.
"Krokoff is the sixth chief tapped by my Mayor Jerry Jennings to lead the 338-member department during his 16-year tenure -- a record of instability that some contend has hamstrung the department with a lack of a clear, consistent vision."The true cost, they argue, has been paid by the city's neighborhoods, which have been forced to endure dramatic periodic shifts in policing strategy.
"'That's not the way to run a business,' said Councilman Dominick Calsolaro, who said he's been through five of those chiefs in just over eight years on the council. 'That's not the way to run a police department.'
"Establishing that vision is among the first things Krokoff has said he will do, vowing to draft a strategic plan based in part on a soon-to-be-unveiled overhaul of the city's entire community policing philosophy.
"Community policing -- a vague buzz word often used as a catch-all to describe efforts to break down walls between citizens and police -- will have concrete, if different, meanings in each of the city's diverse neighborhoods, Krokoff has said."
Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Krokoff is Albany's pick for police chief; Common Council's unanimous vote clears way for formal swearing-in." Albany Times Union. July 20, 2010: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11425619
Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Krokoff places focus on community." Albany Times Union. July 13, 2010. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11362917
"Krokoff -- the only internal candidate granted an interview -- was also competing against finalists Jamie S. Fields, a former deputy chief from Detroit, and John F. Pikus, special agent in charge of the FBI's Albany Division."Jennings was said to also be seriously considering Pikus, a former naval officer and 20-year FBI veteran whose tenure saw federal authorities taking an aggressive role in helping local police crack down on city street gangs.
"But as Krokoff's stock rose with members of the community, who were demanding community policing from the next chief, a organized front specifically opposing Pikus emerged.
"While few publicly questioned Pikus' ability to lead the 340-member department, activists questioned his experience with urban, community-based policing and called the FBI's hand in indicting gang members on federal racketeering charges draconian."
Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Insider is choice for top cop; Mayor Jennings' pick of deputy chief comes after long, very public process." Albany Times Union. June 19, 2010: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=11044867
"Task force members halved that pool to four Tuesday night after about two hours of deliberation at UAlbany's School of Criminal Justice. [...]"Albany Police Officers Union President Christian Mesley questioned whether Krokoff's resume, and comparatively shorter experience, stack up with the other finalists and said Jennings would do well to pick someone from outside the department.
"'I'm not surprised that he made it. I think he'd lose the confidence of the taxpayers if he didn't make the final four,' Mesley said, again noting that the union was given no input into the search. 'Here's the bottom line to me: If you pick Steve Krokoff, why did you do a search?'"
Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Short list at 4 for Albany chief job; Mayor Jennings reveals the names of candidates for the top police position." Albany Times Union. April 8, 2010: D1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=10170537
"Less than 24 hours before the law enforcement summit at the DA's office, on Tuesday night, the task force briefed the Common Council's Public Safety Committee on the status of the four-month-old search."At that meeting, task force member Alice Green raised concerns that, with the interviews just two days away, the eight-member panel had still not had a substantive discussion of the meaning of community policing -- something the public has repeatedly said it wants the next chief to understand. [...] The panel is expected to hear from University at Albany Professor David Bayley, an expert on community policing"
Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Chief interview lengths at issue; Albany task force will talk to two candidates for top police position today." Albany Times Union. March 11, 2010: D5. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9882175
"With less than a week before interviews are set to begin, the task force charged with helping pick the city's next police chief heard residents once again call for someone with proven experience in community policing."'It will be impossible to prevent future gun violence ... if the people and the police do not trust each other,' said Sam Frumkin, a University at Albany sophomore who joined a group of about 25 other UAlbany students at a Thursday forum."
Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Chief search forum held; Panel told Albany's next top cop must work to gain trust of community." Albany Times Union. March 5, 2011: A11. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9803815
"Since his departure, Krokoff and other police brass have begun overhauling the city's approach to community policing -- something the public told the chief search committee it wants to see done no matter who holds the post next."Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Police chief search down to nine; Advisory panel selects finalists from among 48 applicants; meetings set to get public input." Albany Times Union. February 23, 2010: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9657405
Carleo-Evangelist, Jordan. "Search for police boss." Albany Times Union. December 1, 2009: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=9093441
Hopefully, in spite of the involvement of the University at Albany in the selection of University at Albany student Krokoff as City of Albany Police Chief hasn't affected the willingness of the City of Albany police to investigate crimes involving University at Albany administrators or University at Albany Police Department members. I'm at least skeptical about that.
When the Times Union was distributing the number for the Golden Chicken Pizzeria 438-8000 instead of the number for the Albany Police Department 438-4000 in the Pine Hills/SUNY rape case articles, Albany Police were able to get the TU to fix it in early September 2012, whereas the Times Union staff had simply ignored my e-mail to them about it. But when I wrote the City of Albany Police on October 1, 2012 11:24 PM with the subject line "outdated/incorrect sexual offender registry information?" regarding the University at Albany Police Department having two different Sexual Offender Registries, neither of which were being properly maintained for years, I received no reply. The problem didn't get addressed until later in the month, and even then it wasn't comprehensively addressed.
There was a time where I might have trusted the average police officer over the average person. No longer. At best, they're about the same.
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