"the State is not an insurer or guarantor of the safety of SUNYA students"
McEnaney v. State of New York, 267 AD 2d 748 - NY: Appellate Div., 3rd Dept. 1999. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14949034404515783354
Rhetoric contradicts the decision:
"'The health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors is the State University of New York’s (SUNY) top priority,' said Roger Johnson, assistant vice chancellor for University Police and a 30-plus year veteran of law enforcement" [emphasis added] "Statement from SUNY Assistant Vice Chancellor for University Police Roger Johnson on OSC's Clery Audit of SUNY." SUNY. edu. October 22, 2008. http://www.suny.edu/sunynews/News.cfm?filname=2008-10-22%20final%20Johnson%20statement%20on%20Clery.htm
• "the safety of our students and the security of our campuses is our top priority" [emphasis added] - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, September 14, 2012. http://www.governor.ny.gov/press/091412stmtsunythreats
Empty rhetoric, as the decision still stands, and I hope you'll read on for further indications of why it's empty rhetoric. There is a lot of cut and paste from things I've already written to others, but hopefully it hangs together OK, and I've tried to give it something of an outline:
Fallout of the Tortorici case: "Chief" J. "Frank" Wiley
SUNYA appointed J. "Frank" Wiley as Chief of Police in 1996 during the ongoing Ralph J. Tortorici case, forcing Chief Williams to retire. Wiley was reportedly a Baltimore, Maryland schoolteacher when hired; he's an ex-athlete, ex-coach, football fan who was hired when UAlbany had just acquired the NY Giants' summer training camp and were pursuing Division I athletics. He had some police background, all in Maryland and all thus quite irrelevant. His degree's also from a university that was under investigation while he attended it, which will grant Bachelor's in less time than Associate's traditionally take, which had student-directed majors and discussion-based classes, a graduating class of under fifty students, an exceptionally high default rate, a single building leased from the city (and yet they somehow opened a satellite campus on a warm foreign island), etc. How a grossly unqualified man would become one of SUNY's highest-paid police chiefs might be illustrated in how the ex-athlete, ex-coach, football fan treats athletes:
"While six sexual assaults have been reported on the UAlbany campus since September, university police contacted Albany County District Attorney David Soares' office for only one - the alleged rape of a freshman woman by the three football players. In the five other cases, the victims declined to press charges. In the case involving the football players, the district attorney's office was called by a television station before receiving a call from the UAlbany police. […] After the forum, Wiley declined interview requests, saying he only conducts interview by e-mail. 'I've been misquoted in my time here. I have been the object of irresponsible, gotcha journalism,' he said. Wiley steered questions to his officers."
Crowley, Cathleen F. "Handling of rape case defended; UAlbany police chief says officers followed protocol in dealing with alleged assault." Albany Times Union. October 26, 2006: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6365244
Wiley also indicated in his ten years at UAlbany, he'd never contacted the DA's office about a case prior to an arrest, despite the DA's office in that article recommending that he do so.
"University Police Department Chief Frank Wiley used to forum to defend UPD's procedure in arresting the two football players, reiterating the fact that they are not obligated to notify the D.A. when making an arrest because there is no set in stone procedure. Each case differs, according to Wiley.
"'There was no lapse in protocol because there is no protocol,' Wiley said at the forum" (emphasis added).
Markovetz, Jessie. "Officials respond again." Albany Student Press. November 2, 2006. http://www.albanystudentpress.org/news/officials-respond-again-1.782232#.UQObAkqjcmw
If each case differs, why is it they're all treated the same: he never notifies the DA the way the DA's office recommends he do?
J. "Frank" Wiley's football fandom
A couple examples (there's others):
"In an effort to broaden the scope of the University Police Department’s (UPD) community policing initiatives, the Great Dane Ride Along Program has been created. The concept was put into action by UPD Chief J. Frank Wiley and head football coach Bob Ford. The Program will bring together officers of UPD and members of the University’s football team. The players will ride on regular patrol with the officers in two hour shifts.
'The program will expose the students to some of the problems University Police Officers face every day and at the same time will expose the officers to some of our student-athletes,' Ford said. 'This is one of those things that only good can come from.'
"According to Wiley, both the players and the officers are excited about this opportunity and so far, approximately 60 players have volunteered to participate in the program. He added that special planning will be used to ensure that the program will not interfere with the players’ academic schedules. University Police officers assigned to Quad Liaison duties will coordinate the department’s efforts. The program took effect after spring break."
"Great Dane Ride Along Program." highLIGHTS. University Update 20(13). April 2, 1997. http://www.albany.edu/updates/1997/4-2/highlights.html
• 2011-2012 Football Mentorship
"Establish an MOU [Memorandum of Understanding] with the UA Football program to create a leadership development opportunity for football players. MOU was established and signed and pilot program has begun" (38)
"An MOU for a new mentorship program (ATLAS) with UPD and the UA Football team was established."
"Student Success Celebrations." Student Success 2011-2012 Briefing Book. 43. http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/assessment/BriefingBook/UAlbany%20Briefing%20Book%2011-12.pdf
The NY Giants have ended their summer training camp at UAlbany. Is that why Mr. Wiley recently showed up on a list of candidates for a job in another state, why he no longer has any reason to stay at his high-paying job?
"Christensen was selected for the position after a nationwide search led by the Hollins Group, which is the firm that assisted in the search leading to Barbara O’Connor’s hiring in 2008.
"The search turned out three finalists: Christensen and two candidates from outside of the University. Frank Wiley, chief of police at the University of Albany and Penny Fischer, police inspector at Michigan State were the other two finalists. A committee headed by Renee Romano, vice chancellor of student affairs, chose to recommend Christensen for the job."
Vazquez, Steven. "Christensen named University police chief." Daily Illini. June 10, 2012. http://www.dailyillini.com/article/2012/06/christensen_named_university_police_chief
Mr. Wiley's qualifications and Oath of Office
How did Chief Wiley meet the legal and constitutional requirements of N.Y. CIV. SERV. LAW §§ 58 (1) and (1-b), N.Y. EXEC. LAW § 840 (2) and N.Y. CONST. Art. 5, § 6? He would have been over 40 when he took the exam, had not been promoted up through the ranks in New York, is physically stocky, etc. The most important quality of an "ideal officer" for him ( http://police.albany.edu/IdealOfficer.shtml ) is a decades-old saying he misquotes from Indiana State and UCLA basketball coach James Wooden.
Mr. Wiley also lacks an Oath of Office on file with the NYS Secretary of State for 1996 or 1999, according to a FOIL request I'd filed with the Department of State. See "Oath of Office" http://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=546 He's thus vacated his office under N.Y. PUB. OFF. LAW § 30 (1) (h) and the legal precedent in People ex rel. Walton v. Hicks (173 App. Div. 338, affd. 221 N.Y. 503), at 341 which states of the New York Public Officers Law that:
"This statute is emphatic and unequivocal. It does not seem possible that it can be misunderstood. In case a person appointed to office neglects to file his official oath within 15 days after notice of appointment or within 15 days after the commencement of the term of office, the office becomes vacant, ipso facto. That is all there is to it. No judicial procedure is necessary. No notice is necessary. Nothing is necessary. The office is vacant, as much so as though the appointee is dead. There is no incumbent, and the vacancy may be filled by the proper appointive power" (emphasis added).
I wish all judges wrote like that! That state of affairs might help explain the threatening e-mail and letter I was sent by Clarence L. McNeill soon after I'd initially tried filing that FOIL request at UAlbany. The e-mail was actually sent the day after I'd requested Mr. Wiley's Oath of Office, and Mr. McNeill cc'd Mr. Wiley on the threatening e-mail, evidently believing Mr. Wiley would have reason to want to know I'd been threatened not to try filing a FOIL request with a Records Access Officer at UAlbany ever again for the rest of my life. I instead filed with the NYS Department of State, and they didn't threaten me but instead complied like the law requires them to do - and they even did so quite quickly.
Could Mr. Wiley have been one of the "chiefs" that Lyman and Barry had in mind in the following?
James Lyman, Executive Director of Council 82 for the New York State Law Enforcement Officers Union had stated, "there are police chiefs in SUNY who are not mandating policer [sic] officers, certified, whatever. We have police chiefs that refuse to voluntarily give up their fingerprints [emphasis added]" (108). http://www.nysenate.gov/files/SUNY%20testimony%20pt.%202.PDF
Peter Barry, Vice President and Legislative Director of New York State University Police Officers Union, Local 1792 of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, AFSCME, Council 82 and AFL-CIO had stated, "decentralized structure promotes erroneous crime reporting and record keeping. One possible cause for this is that SUNY police chiefs serve at the pleasure of the campus president, thus are motivated to keep crime stats down by any means […] SUNY can no longer afford to staff, or overstaff, a body which is subject to inefficiencies, manipulation, cronyism, ill motivation and mismanagement [emphasis added]." (127-128).
http://www.nysenate.gov/files/SUNY%20Testimony%20pt.%203.PDF
Mr. Wiley's (Non-)Coordination of UAlbany Police with local law enforcement
It's now seven years after that case. I filed a FOIL request with Albany County for the Sheriff's Office agreement or Memorandum of Understanding with UAlbany's PD. They don't have one. In reply I wrote Albany County's Public Information Officer:
If the county might be interested in developing one, I'd found an example and could probably find others:
A Memorandum of Understanding between Schenectady County Community College, the City of Schenectady, City of Schenectady Fire Department, City of Schenectady Police Department, Schenectady County Office of Emergency Management, Schenectady County Office of the Sheriff, and Schenectady County Public Health Services appears as Appendix C (pages 22-25) here: http://www.sunysccc.edu/pdf/SCCC-2010-Clery-Report-09-29-2011.pdf
Even apart from N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 355 (2) (l) seeming to require one, it does seem like a genuinely good idea.
I filed a FOIL request with the City of Albany too, who acknowledged the request and then violated FOIL by not sending a response or a denial. I had presumed it was because they don't have one either, but didn't want to explicitly admit that. Eventually, after resubmitting the request through muck rock, the City of Albany eventually complied with the FOIL request. From the date of my original request it had taken several months to obtain something they really ought to have had online and that UAlbany really ought to have had online as well and attached to or linked from their annual Clery Act report: https://www.muckrock.com/foi/albany-720/law-enforcement-agreement-between-city-of-albany-suny-albany-4811/ Chief Krokoff has a degree from UAlbany and is pursuing another there, I note.
Mr. Wiley's ideas regarding safety and security regarding his own family
I'd like to know why Mr. Wiley had only been a Baltimore city policeman for a year, why he seemed to have been a Director of Public Safety for the University of Maryland Eastern Shore for a year, and why he didn't stay at UMBC either, but instead left Maryland entirely. The ties he maintained with law enforcement in Maryland were evidently so poor that he failed to keep himself in the loop regarding the parole hearings for the man who nearly murdered his stepdaughter by stabbing her repeatedly in the back on the floor of a relative's home in front of their minor children. The best excuse Mr. Wiley could think of for his absence from the hearing, which had resulted in the man's release, was to put the blame for his own absence entirely on his traumatized stepdaughter. His behavior as a stepfather and as a chief I find to be morally reprehensible:
"James F. 'Frank' Wiley, Janine's stepfather, who lives in upstate New York, said the family's absence from this week's hearing might have been a result of Janine's oversight."
McMenamin, Jennifer. "Man's release worries victim; Woman, 40, was unaware of court hearing; attacker got early out from judge." Baltimore Sun. December 17, 2004. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2004-12-17/news/0412170069_1_janine-bailey-boyfriend
He should have made it his own responsibility to track those hearings. Perhaps if he had a stronger background in law enforcement, or had maintained ties with Baltimore law enforcement, he would have been able to do so.
Abdul-Wahhab v. The State of New York
An exceptionally bad decision may be found in Abdul-Wahhab v. The State of New York, #2012-032-004, Claim No. 116205 (June 18, 2012) http://vertumnus.courts.state.ny.us/claims/html/2012-032-004.html
Two male UAlbany police officers had hidden in a women's restroom and used a peephole in the women's restroom to spy on a "decoy bag" they were using to entrap students. Two students took the bag and tried to determine its owner, which they couldn't do since it wasn't a real person's bag. Officers quickly took the students outside after a major blizzard, despite the female student being in shorts, t-shirt, and sandals. They arrested the students, and later refused the woman a ride home at 1 AM. An officer testified "he never received any training in the Personal Property Law." The judge, one whose appointment had been contested by Senator Schumer for her lack of prosecutorial experience (and who had failed to obtain prior appointments for which she'd been nominated), decided the officers had exercised "reasoned judgment."
Abdul-Wahhab v. The State of New York: Ignorantia juris non excusat
Ignorantia juris non excusat (particularly for an officer of the law, I'd think):
Paul Burlingame has evidently been at the University at Albany Police Department since 2002: "Serving since 2002." http://police.albany.edu/Member2.asp?LName=Burlingame&FName=Paul
Paul Burlingame had thus testified that he'd been ignorant of the Personal Property Law from 2002 to December 14, 2007: approximately five years (supposing that the law dates back to 2002 - and for even longer than that if he'd served in other police departments than the University at Albany's prior to 2002).
"Assistant Chief Paul Berger has been with the University Police Department since December 1988." http://police.albany.edu/Member2.asp?LName=Berger&FName=Paul
Paul Berger had thus testified that he'd been ignorant of the Personal Property Law from December 1988 to December 14, 2007: nineteen years (supposing that the law dates back to 1988).
Given Mr. Berger's testimony, the Criminal Justice Studies program at Alfred University, the Public Administration program at Marist College, and the S.U.N.Y. University Police Academy all must have lacked instruction in the Personal Property Law. Marist College's lack would at least be understandable should that program not have had a concentration in police administration.
SUNY Police Manual § 15.09 "Every member is required to establish and maintain a working knowledge of laws, local ordinances, the rules and policies of the university department, and orders of the department. In the event of improper action or breach of discipline, it will be presumed that the member was familiar with the law, rule or policy in question and will be subject to possible disciplinary action." http://www.suny.edu/sunypp/documents.cfm?doc_id=364
N.Y. PENAL LAW § 15.20 (2) "A person is not relieved of criminal liability for conduct because he engages in such conduct under a mistaken belief that it does not, as a matter of law, constitute an offense, unless such mistaken belief is founded upon an official statement of the law contained in (a) a statute or other enactment, or (b) an administrative order or grant of permission, or (c) a judicial decision of a state or federal court, or (d) an interpretation of the statute or law relating to the offense, officially made or issued by a public servant, agency or body legally charged or empowered with the responsibility or privilege of administering, enforcing or interpreting such statute or law."
Abdul-Wahhab v. The State of New York: Misrepresentation of education
Berger's education isn't quite what he currently claims it to have been, though.
"He graduated from the S.U.N.Y. University Police Academy in April 1989 with highest academic honors" [emphasis added].
http://police.albany.edu/Member2.asp?LName=Berger&FName=Paul
SUNY didn't have full police in 1989; they had peace officers which then changed to full police officers in 1999 by act of NYS legislature. The bio used to state:
"He graduated from the S.U.N.Y. Public Safety Academy in April 1989 with highest academic honors" [emphasis added].
http://web.archive.org/web/20000712215006/http://police.albany.edu/staff2.html
His bio changed from "S.U.N.Y. Public Safety Academy" sometime between March 8, 2001 http://web.archive.org/web/20010308180829/http://police.albany.edu/staff2.html (where it still states "Public Safety Academy") and June 30, 2002 (where it states "S.U.N.Y. University Police Academy") http://web.archive.org/web/20020630134103/http://police.albany.edu/staff2.html
They seem to be two different things. See N.Y. CRIM. PROC. LAW §2.10 for "persons designated as peace officers"; N.Y. CRIM. PROC. LAW §1.20 (34) for persons designated as police officers. Specifically, N.Y. CRIM. PROC. LAW §1.20 (34) (s) identifies a "university police officer appointed by the state university pursuant to paragraph 1 of subdivision two of section three hundred fifty-five of the education law."
Is it legal for him to misrepresent the school he'd attended and the nature of it at the time he'd attended it?
N.Y. EDUC. LAW § 224 (4) No diploma or degree shall be conferred in this state except by a regularly organized institution of learning meeting all requirements of law and of the university, nor shall any person, with intent to deceive, falsely represent himself to have received any such degree or credential [...] Counterfeiting or falsely or without authority making or altering in a material respect any such credential issued under seal shall be a felony; any other violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor; and any person who aids or abets another, or advertises or offers himself to violate the provisions of this section, shall be liable to the same penalties. [emphasis added]
Abdul-Wahhab v. The State of New York: The 2007 Blizzard
Regarding the blizzard the night of that incident that wasn't mentioned in the case, leaving the young woman's allegation unsupported that it was in fact cold and snowy when the officers took her outside in her shorts, a t-shirt, and sandals sometime after 11 PM and then refused her a ride home around 1 AM:
Ilnytzky, Ula. "Storm slows travel across state." Albany Times Union. December 14, 2007: A3. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6433727
"The storm that dumped up to 8 inches of snow on the Capital Region before blowing through at around 8:30 p.m."
Stanforth, Lauren. "More winter on the way Meteorologists say season's first snowstorm will be trumped by one expected to arrive this weekend." Albany Times Union. December 14, 2007: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6433747
Even other police weren't going out in that snow, nor were they making the public do so:
Huber, Mark. "Snow shoots down safety mission." Albany Times Union. December 14, 2007. http://blog.timesunion.com/localpolitics/919/snow-shoots-down-safety-session/
None of those were hard to find. I expect there's even local TV news footage of the blizzard that could be located; there's amateur footage of it on YouTube:
Abdul-Wahhab v. The State of New York: McNeill and King
"incidents that are handled entirely by a school and not by criminal courts usually end in punishments that fall far short of jail time. Or, according to Eileen Stevens, the judicial board uses privacy concerns as an excuse for keeping the details of the punishment of student hazers from ever reaching the public. For example, the University of Georgia's judicial panel found members of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity guilty in the hazing of a school football player, Roderick Perrymond, in a secret session, and refused to divulge to the press which individuals were punished. Perrymond, twenty-one, had been hospitalized with bruised buttocks and broken blood vessels. He charged that three fraternity members—one the chapter adviser—had paddled him more than seventy times" (Wrongs of Passage 33-34).
Wrongs of Passage also mentions that the President of Phi Beta Sigma admitted his own involvement in hazing (47-48) and that a member had been "found murdered in his car" in 1998 at the University of South Florida.
Phi Beta Sigma members at St. John's University for allegedly beating a fraternity pledge to the extent that he went temporarily blind, had kidney failure, and urinated blood. If an article reprinted online quotes the original correctly, "Because the defendants are not charged with hazing, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, Justice Daniel Lewis has barred attorneys from using that term during the trial. Instead, the attorneys may use initiation or pledging. Lewis himself is a member of the same fraternity, which was founded in 1914 at Howard University in Washington." What business would a member of the fraternity have judging a case involving hazing done by members of his fraternity?
And surprise:
Shifrel, Scott. "3 Cleared In Hazing." N.Y. Daily News. December 14, 2004. http://articles.nydailynews.com/2004-12-14/news/18269085_1_paddling-co-defendants-hazing-ritual
Former President of the State University of New York at Albany's Phi Beta Sigma's Mu Iota Sigma chapter, Clarence L. McNeill
"Clarence McNeill." Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, Mu Iota Sigma Chapter - Albany New York. http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/phibetasigma/Akin.html
"Clarence McNeill, president of the fraternity’s Mu Iota Sigma chapter"
"Slade honored." UAlbany Update 25(14). April 11, 2002. University at Albany. http://www.albany.edu/pr/updates/apr11/tablecampus.htm
is the judicial administrator for the University at Albany.
As the angelfire.com webpage states, "Brother Clarence McNeill joined the ranks of Phi Beta Sigma on June 30, 1999. He became interested in joining Sigma after speaking with two of it's member, Brother Charles Rogers, and Brother Ekwo King. Both men were doing great things at the University of Albany, and Clarence wanted to be a part of it,. Clarence has served in a variety of leadership positions in Residential Life, and currently serves as the Director of Judicial Services."
"Brother Clarence serves as the Director of Judicial Affairs at SUNY Albany."
http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/phibetasigma/Pictures.html
He actually was NOT the Director at the time that those pages were written (the latter is dated 2003). He was the Associate Director from 2003-2005, and became the director thereafter.
His surname is sometimes spelled with one L at the end, sometimes two. Despite his having allegedly earned his degrees at the University at Albany, where he now works, different pages make different claims about what those degrees are:
BS Business Administration
MS Education Administration
CAS in progress [at that time]
"Degree: B.S. Business Administration, M.S. Education Administration, pursuing CAS"
URL: http://www.angelfire.com/ny5/phibetasigma/Akin.html . Accessed: 2012-08-01. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/69bPXhT1n )
BA Education Administration
MA Education Administration
CAS Education Administration
"B.A ? 95?, M.A ? 97? & C.A.S ? 03? in Education Administration here at the University."
URL: http://www.albany.edu/studentsuccess/clarence-mcneil.shtml . Accessed: 2012-08-01. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/69bPhCWKJ )
BA Africana Studies
(MA or MS?) Education Administration & Policy Studies
CAS Education Administration & Policy Studies
"He earned his B.A in Africana Studies in 1995, Master?s in Education Administration & Policy Studies in 1997 and his Certificate of Advanced Study in the same discipline."
URL: http://www.albany.edu/studentconduct/staff.shtml . Accessed: 2012-08-01. (Archived by WebCite® at http://www.webcitation.org/69bPqNp53 )
http://www.albany.edu/studentconduct/staff.shtml
has since migrated to
http://www.albany.edu/studentconduct/staff.php but the inconsistencies regarding degrees and the spelling of his surname have been retained.
The "Decoy Bag" program not the only UAlbany anti-theft program exercising poorly-reasoned judgment
The "decoy bag" operation employed by the University at Albany Police Department described in the case was not the only UPD initiative concerning theft that has lacked signs of reasoned judgment. An earlier-created one, also running concurrently, has been UAlbany PD's !!GOTCHA!! Tag campaign.
http://www.angelfire.com/fm/erinsplace/gotcha_tag.jpg
"!!GOTCHA!!", as in "I have got you!" does not have a positive connotation, as various definitions of "get" (linked from "gotcha") in the Oxford English Dictionary indicate:
• "To get hold of, capture (a person); also (in recent colloquial use, esp. in perf. and pa. tense), to have an advantage over (another), to ‘corner’. Also, to puzzle, perplex, nonplus. So to get (someone) where one wants him (or her) : to have at one's mercy; to render subservient, dependent, etc"
• "To succeed in taking or catching (a person or animal); spec. (orig. U.S.) to succeed in killing or injuring; to shoot or kill."
• "orig. in African-American usage. To start, or take part in, a fight or argument."
"!!GOTCHA!!" is, essentially, a word of predation, with the police as the predators and students as victims. That is not the best way for police to be portraying themselves to the student body at large, or a good way to portray their attitude regarding students (even though it might in fact accurately convey their actual attitude regarding students). Whatever truth there might be in crime victims ever being at fault for being victimized by crime, a police chief stating that does not endear himself to students (or faculty or staff, for that matter). Mr. Wiley had tried it at Oberlin College when he was a candidate there, and Oberlin College chose not to hire him:
"'My issue is not to criminalize people for doing a lot of things in this world,' said Wiley, saying he preferred advocacy to arrest. 'But some of that is also responsibility of the student, because if you place yourself at an unnecessary risk, something could happen to you,' Wiley said."
Cotton, André. "Security candidate visits and talks with students." Oberlin Review 124(21). April 19, 1996. http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/archives/1996.04.19/news/candidate.html
One needn't be a radical feminist to have issue with what he said and how he said it. Nevertheless, UAlbany hired Mr. Wiley later that year, after Oberlin had rejected him. While a Baltimore public schoolteacher, he'd traveled from Baltimore, Maryland to Oberlin, Ohio, and then from Baltimore, Maryland to Albany, New York. Was finding police work in Maryland not proving at all possible, and if not: why?
Mr. Wiley himself uses the word "gotcha" with a predatory sense:
"After the forum, Wiley declined interview requests, saying he only conducts interview by e-mail. 'I've been misquoted in my time here. I have been the object of irresponsible, gotcha journalism,' he said.
"Wiley steered questions to his officers."
Crowley, Cathleen F. "Handling of rape case defended; UAlbany police chief says officers followed protocol in dealing with alleged assault." Albany Times Union. October 26, 2006: A1. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6365244
"!!GOTCHA!!" with students is evidently fine In Mr. Wiley's opinion, but he doesn't like it when it's he who's allegedly being "got." His paranoia about being "got" seems self-serving, when he forced his officers to answer questions; wasn't he worried they'd be "gotten" too? It seemed more like he had lacked the knowledge to say anything substantial that wasn't self-incriminating, and was deferring questions to people who know more about his department's operations than he does himself. Perhaps Ms. Fila or Mr. Mull should be chief instead, except they on occasion ignore calls for help from students just like Mr. Wiley does… or at any rate, they chose not to respond to me.
It would be slightly better if the word were being employed by the Police Department in a benevolent role, e.g. if they were saying to students the PD has "got their back" and was protecting them from having their items stolen, but "!!GOTCHA!!" wasn't being used that way, nor do I think it is used that way in general. UPD hasn't "got" students' backs with regard to theft or even with respect to active shooters: "the State is not an insurer or guarantor of the safety of SUNYA students" McEnaney v. State of New York, 267 AD 2d 748 - NY: Appellate Div., 3rd Dept. 1999. http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=14949034404515783354
The tags also serve as a victim-blaming device; yes, students shouldn't leave items unattended - but need students who failed to secure their items have their friends and neighbors' attention called to their failure to do so through the shaming device of the tags?
UPD's obsession with UAlbany athletics finds expression in many places: inappropriately, the tags carry an illustration of an angry Great Dane, with "DANES" below it: Damian the Great Dane, the logo of UAlbany athletics. Has the person who's been tagged been "got" by both UPD and also by UAlbany athletics? Sicced by an attack dog? The text of the tag in the small image is hard to make out: I can see "The UAlbany Police Crime prevention Unit Respectfully" with the paragraph ending in "Thank you".
Aside from that, is there no liability concern? Police putting bright yellow tags on unattended items or unlocked doors: what if a criminal's attention was caught by one of those tags? If an item they'd tagged was stolen, or an unlocked door entered in order to commit a crime?
One hopes UPD does not go as far as the relatively few other university police who employ such am ill-conceived campaign (as far as I can tell, most universities wisely don't elect to use "'!!GOTCHA!!' tags"):
"The 'Operation Gotcha' program was an attempt to deal with thefts from campus housing and Torreyson Library. Police would open unlocked residence hall doors and leave 'gotcha' tags for students in unlocked rooms and on unattended items in the library."
"Campus safety not a month-long problem," The Echo [University of Central Arkansas]. October 25, 2011. http://ucaecho.net/opinion/campus-safety-not-a-month-long-problem/
Testing students' doors to see if they're locked, and actually entering if they're not is quite a bit more predatory in nature, and seems downright illegal. If I were a student in a dormroom and heard the lock of my door being tested at some strange time, and then if a police officer followed that by entering without knocking or asking, I'd find it more unnerving than anything like an act meant to protect my property. Also, what would they do if they ended up finding illegal drugs, or stolen items, or weapons, etc. in a room they'd entered without a warrant? It would become fruit of the poisonous tree, I'd guess.
"an officer gets three points for a crime report, five points for a directed patrol, and one point for every two 'gotcha' tags they hand out. 'When we find an unattended purse or an unlocked door, one of these gotcha `hang-tags are left there to remind the owner about leaving belongings unattended,” Wiley said."
James, Lisa. "frontPage: UPD's Community Policing Efforts Creating Safer Environment." University Update 20(7). December 4, 1996 http://www.albany.edu/updates/1996/11-27/frontpage.html
Incentivizing police "getting" innocent students also seems unwise. How about getting actual criminals instead, getting thieves rather than potential victims of thievery?
"On Nov. 30, the University Police Department (UPD) initiated an Anti-Theft Outreach Program. In an effort to remind people not to leave their belongings unattended, UPD officers will be handing out flyers and posters as well as sending email to students, faculty and staff.
"In addition, the officers will be distributing 'gotcha tags' for placing on unattended purses or other items to remind the owner that someone could have taken the item. UPD also will assign additional personnel during the month of December since thefts tend to rise as the Christmas season approaches.
"Theft represents more than 30 percent of all crime reported to UPD. And more than 30 percent of these thefts are the result of belongings left unwatched. “It is hoped that by reminding the University community of the importance of securing its property, we might prevent much of the theft that occurs during this time of year,” said UPD Chief Frank Wiley.
"The theft outreach initiative is part of UPD’s community policing system. Among the new programs in this system are the Client Satisfaction Survey, given to anyone who has contact with UPD, and the Park, Walk and Talk program, where officers get out of their patrol cars and interact more with people.
"otherArticles: UPD Says 'Gotcha' to Theft." University Update 21(7). December 3, 1997.
http://www.albany.edu/updates/1997/12-3/otherarticles.html
"If you ever went to the shower and left your dorm room door wide open, left your coat and books unattended in the Library, or left your backpack in the hallway outside the Barnes and Noble campus bookstore, you may have been the recipient of a yellow Gotcha! tag. These tickets are a new crime prevention awareness intiative from the University Police Department. When an officer on foot patrol witnesses a property or safety risk, he will fill out one of these tickets and place it on the violation. These tickets make the recipient aware of how their property was placed at risk by leaving it unattended and available to thieves. By making the University community more aware of risk behavior, the University Police Department hopes to reduce the amount of preventable thefts.
"Every officer carries these tags, and they are always on the lookout to . . . GETCHA!"
"GOTCHA!" University Police Department - Units. http://www.angelfire.com/fm/erinsplace/sunyunits.html
Wiley, J. Frank. "Profile in Community Policing." Community Policing: A Contemporary Perspective. 5th Ed. Eds. Victor E. Kappeler and Larry K. Gaines. Newark, NJ: Matthew Bender & Company, 2009. 389.
"Officers at UAlbany routinely visit dorms and leave 'gotcha' tags on open doors or on books or bags left in the hall, in order to show students how easy it would be for their stuff to disappear. Wiley says the police held 43 percent more crime prevention programs in 2000 than in the previous year.
"In 2000 at UAlbany, there were 248 thefts of unattended properties, including both grand and petit larcenies, up from 92 two years earlier."
Wechsler, Alan. "UAlbany reports rise in felonies." Albany Times Union. July 11, 2011: A1. http://alb.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6116682
Incident Type: GOTCHA Tags
2007 Number Reported 7 http://police.albany.edu/UPDStats/Stats2007.asp?start=1-1-07&end=12-31-07
2008 Number Reported 1 http://police.albany.edu/UPDStats/Stats2008.asp?start=1-1-08&end=12-31-08
2009 Number Reported 0 http://police.albany.edu/UPDStats/Stats2009.asp?start=1-1-09&end=12-31-09
2010 Number Reported 0 http://police.albany.edu/UPDStats/Stats2012.asp?start=1-1-12&end=12-31-12
2011 Number Reported 1 http://police.albany.edu/UPDStats/Stats2011.asp?start=1-1-11&end=12-31-11
2012 Number Reported 0 http://police.albany.edu/UPDStats/Stats2012.asp?start=1-1-12&end=12-31-12
Note that 2009 and 2010 both indicate that zero "!!GOTCHA!!" tags were used. The Annual Report for those years presents the program as if it were actually active, making UPD seem like it had more that it was doing to prevent crime than it was in fact actually doing:
"In an effort to get students to keep their doors locked at all times, when an officer or SSA finds an open door, they notify Residential Life staff, then standby until it’s secured. In non-residential areas a 'Gotcha' tag may be left on the now secured door as a reminder to the occupants to lock their doors."
"Crime Prevention Methods." University at Albany Police Department Annual Report 2009. 8. http://police.albany.edu/UPDAnnualReport2009.pdf
"Crime Prevention Methods." University at Albany Police Department Annual Report 2010. 8. http://police.albany.edu/UPDAnnualReport2010.pdf
Why they haven't retired the program when (1) it seems to have been ill-conceived from the start (2) it doesn't seem to have had any noticeable impact on theft (3) they barely use it at all anyway (4) students would be unfamiliar with it since it's barely used at all, etc., I don't know.
Judge Hard
The judge in the case is one that U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer had initially objected to because of her lack of prosecutorial experience:
"After a failed bid to get her an appointment as U.S. attorney, Gov. George Pataki on Tuesday nominated Judith A. Hard as a Court of Claims judge.
"Hard, whose nomination for U.S. attorney for the Northern District was blocked by Democratic U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer for lack of courtroom and prosecutorial experience, still requires confirmation by the state Senate."
Odato, James M. "Pataki picks attorney for court of claims post." Albany Times Union. June 12, 2002: B2. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6177652
Schumer changed his mind, ultimately, about opposing her appointment:
"'Prosecutorial experience is very important,' Schumer said Thursday, referring to her lack of it. 'But maybe she is so good at everything else she won't need it.'"
"Schumer might be warming to Pataki's pick for prosecutor." Albany Times Union. February 22, 2002: B3. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6159770
Judge Hard decided that the PD in the case, members of which claimed to be ignorant of the law, had exercised "reasoned judgment." It's hard to see the reasoning behind Judge Hard's judgment, or how she might be "so good at everything else" at this point. Evidently she really *did* need prosecutorial experience.
Lawyer Mark Mishler's relationship with UAlbany
Mishler is a former University at Albany Student Legal Services director http://www.markmishlerlaw.com/background.html At the time he was hired, he hadn't yet passed the bar:
Langelis, Jill. "Law School Grad Picked to be SA Attorney." ASP [Albany Student Press] 68(2). June 24, 1981: 1 cols 1-4. http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/findaids/issues/1981_06_24.pdf
SLS is prohibited from representing UAlbany students in cases against UAlbany, something the webpage stated explicitly up until recently. The most recent Internet Archive capture of it is from 2010; I'll have to see if I made a webcitation archive more recently:
"SLS does not provide litigation representation for those problems or claims against the University at Albany, or the State of New York."
http://web.archive.org/web/20100527105845/http://www.albany.edu/studentassociation/legalservices.shtml
I'll have to check this also: I'm pretty sure I complained somewhere about the fact that students have to pay an activity fee for a lawyer who can't assist students very much. The page changed sometime this year to drop mention of how SLS can't represent students with claims against the university, http://www.albany.edu/studentassociation/legalservices.shtml but I bet it's still true that they won't.
Mishler also donated his personal papers to UAlbany (evidently after he'd lost at least two cases against UAlbany addressed below):
MISHLER, MARK
Papers, 1975–2008, 6 cubic ft. (APAP–316)
Mark Mishler has practiced law in Albany, NY since 1981, first as director of student legal services at the University at Albany for six years and then as an attorney in private practice. In 2000 he ran for Albany County District Attorney, endorsed by the Working Families Party and the Green Party. This collection documents three decades of Mishler's political, community, and legal work on issues involving the city police force, police misconduct, and police practices with regard to civilian rights. Included are case files, court records, subject files, correspondence, clippings, reports, notes, background research, newsletters, and flyers for community events. The files detail Mishler's involvement with a variety of community organizations, such as the Albany Community Police Relations Board, the Albany branch of the NAACP, and the local chapter of Citizen Action. There is a small number of audio/video cassettes, and a small group of photographs. In addition, there are files and memorabilia documenting Mishler's 2000 political campaign for district attorney.
http://library.albany.edu/speccoll/albany.htm
Mark Mishler's prior losses when representing UAlbany students against UAlbany police: the Beth Schwartz case:
"A University at Albany student suspended for falsely reporting a campus assault now claims she was pressured into making a confession -- and actually told the truth. [...] The crux of the suit is that police mistrusted her account because of her distracted manner of speaking -- a condition she attributes to having attention deficit disorder."
Brownstein, Andrew. "Campus assault did occur, suspended student says." Albany Times Union. August 4, 1999: B1 http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6002314
"Schwartz's lawyer, Mark Mishler of Albany, said the ruling was not tantamount to dismissing the case outright. 'That was not what was before him today,' Mishler said. 'It was his opinion, at the beginning of the case, that we're not likely to win.'"
Brownstein, Andrew. "Setback for student suing UAlbany." Albany Times Union. August 28, 1999: B3. http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=5943768
Like my case, that appears to have involved a student with disabilities. Schwartz had attention deficit disorder, whereas I have treatment-resistant dysthymia with recurring episodes of atypical major depression and (primarily social) anxiety. Barberich, McNeill, Chief Wiley, etc. knew I was a student with disabilities.
Mark Mishler's prior losses when representing UAlbany students against UAlbany police: the Thora Grey, Joshua Brown, and Victorio Reyes case:
In 2000, Deputy Chief of Police Douglas Kern (a former interim Chief of Police) was accused of punching UAlbany biology and geography major Thora Grey in the face during a student protest against sweatshop labor and other issues and it was evidently even documented: "A TV camera recorded a protester, reportedly Gray, being struck in the head" (Grace April 18, 2000), of pushing protester Joshua Brown backwards down a flight of stairs (Brown might have been an RPI student; the articles only identify him as working for Troy nonprofit corporations), and Kern filed assault charges against protestor Victorio Reyes - Reyes said he was acting in defense of Grey. Kern was not suspended while under investigation, leaving him free to continue to be on campus around students who didn't know if he might be innocent or guilty. Charges were dropped all around in the end, so in fact he never was found innocent. He served several more years and retired as Deputy Chief of Police/Emeritus. "Emeritus" isn't something usually bestowed on somebody who'd even been accused of punching a young female student in the face.
"UAlbany students occupy office." http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6012358
"DA probes campus protest" http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6012770
" A TV camera recorded a protester, reportedly Gray, being struck in the head."
"2 file charges over protest incident at Ualbany" http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6014598
"Charges against student reduced." http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6017115
"UAlbany policeman faces assault charges." http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6051922
"UAlbany Officer Cleared of Assault" http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6064077
"Albany attorney Mark Mishler, who represented the students, said he expected to go to trial. 'I thought there was no way they would get rid of that charge.'"
"Judge Disposes of Cases in UAlbany Protest." http://albarchive.merlinone.net/mweb/wmsql.wm.request?oneimage&imageid=6039895
Does that TV footage still exist, I wonder?
There might be other cases Mishler lost for students too?
I find it hard to believe in the integrity of our judicial system, I regret to write. Cases like the above make a mockery of it. The below certainly doesn't help matters.
Begin forwarded message:
From: "Christopher Philippo"
Subject: 2010 Kaye Report to SUNY Board of Trustees
Date: June 4, 2012 1:50:27 PM EDT
To: [Judith Kaye]
I think a problem similar to what you investigated at Binghamton for the SUNY Board of Trustees may currently exist at the SUNY school from which I'm graduating, and some other problems as well. I did contact the NY Inspector General, but did not even get an e-mail back acknowledging that my complaint had been received. Perhaps they are so busy they cannot do that, but I wonder.
I don't know if you'd be at liberty to suggest some other NY offices to contact?
I believe I can also contact:
State University of New York
Central Administration
State University Plaza
Albany, NY 12246
New York State Division of Human Rights
Agency Building 1, 2nd Floor
Empire State Plaza
Albany, New York 12220
Tel No. (518) 474-2705 (or 2707)
InfoAlbany@dhr.state.ny.us
Office of the New York State Attorney General
Justice Building
Empire State Plaza
Albany, NY 12223
Office for Civil Rights--New York Office
U.S. Department of Education
32 Old Slip, 26th Floor
New York, NY 10005-2500
Telephone: 646-428-3900
FAX: 646-428-3843; TDD: 877-521-2172
Email: OCR.NewYork@ed.gov
I can't particularly afford to hire a lawyer, but I increasingly fear this may end up in litigation. The university's Judicial Administrator sent me an e-mail indicating that by my reporting faculty ethics violations (as the University requires students to do) and sexual harassment (as the University permits students to do) and/or by seeking support from my academic advisor and professors (as the University permits students to do) that I was providing "fuel" for "civil"/"criminal" litigation against me.
Among other things, I never received all of my grades for the class taught by the professor I'd reported (the chair required me to remain in the class as a condition of my graduating after I had reported the sexual harassment to her as well as my complete discomfort with it and asked to be given permission to drop the class) even though the professor reported final grades to the University Registrar and my final grade posted online in December 2011. The University's Judicial Administrator twice promised me (and my mother!) my grades, but he never sent them either. I made a FOIA/FOIL/PPPL request for my own grades, noting also the University's own policy on timely grades, and the Records Access Officer informed me I may not get them until July 2, 2012 and the Records Access Officer also cc'd the University's Senior Counsel: seven months after the class ended. The grades are a relatively small matter compared to some of the others, which I'd be happy to describe, but since I would not be able to afford to hire you and I don't know that you'd work on contingency, you may not wish me to do so.
I'm just a undergraduate student, an adult learner with disabilities. This is pretty overwhelming to have to deal with, and I hate to think teenagers may have been, may currently be, or may in the future be subjected to treatment anything like I have received.
Thank you for any help you can provide,
Christopher K. Philippo
Ms. Kaye, having already been paid a ridiculously large amount of money for her insufficiently thorough 2010 report, was not helpful. She suggested I try the Bar Association or Legal Aid Society, both of which proved useless. The former cannot provide useful contacts for lawyers that will handle cases pro bono or on contingency. The latter only handles certain kinds of cases, and have a certain window of time in which people have to call them for help - one has to put them on redial and keep calling until maybe somebody answers (it's busy 99.9% of the time).
One member of the Albany County Bar Association was kind enough to write, "what a tough time you have had," but sympathy is only so helpful. They also suggested I handle the case myself - a good way of trying to get me to lose my case since that would put me, not even a paralegal, up against the NYS Attorney General in court.
Every branch of the government exists for the wealthy alone, since only the wealthy can afford legislators, executives, district attorneys, attorney generals, and judges. Having no consciences, they probably sleep pretty well.
For the rest of us, there's no peace. Written threats sent to me and my family still stand and the three corrupt branches at the local, county, state, and federal level are doing nothing about that because I'm a few tens of millions of dollars short of being someone that matters to them. Similarly, Thora Grey, Beth Swartz, Amira Abdul-Wahhab, Karen Wilson, Suzanne Lyall: there's a long list of people who have meant nothing to those in the position to help. When will that ever change, if ever?
https://www.muckrock.com/foi/new-york-16/accreditation-program-records-for-police-departments-in-albany-county-7879/
