Rule Troopers Entitled to Reps After Incidents

By REUVEN BLAU

An Albany judge has ruled that New York State Troopers are entitled to legal and union counsel during critical incident review interviews.

The NYS Troopers Police Benevolent Association sought the declaratory judgment after the Division of State Police in 2002 began denying legal representation to officers involved in shootings or incidents leading to serious injuries.

Disciplinary Concern

"It belies common sense to contend that a Trooper who has just been involved in a critical incident, perhaps resulting in civilian death, is not a potential subject of a disciplinary proceeding," Supreme Court Justice Joseph C. Teresi ruled. "A Trooper has the right to representation before and during a critical incident review under Civil Rights Law."

PBA President Dan De Federicis lauded the decision. "We are happy with it and we think it is an accurate holding based on the law," he remarked. "The one thing that anyone knows about the American legal system is you get a lawyer, yet the State Police was trying to go against that legal fact and history."

He contended that the policy shift was the Pataki administration's illegal way of trying to circumvent the union. "They weren't used to the union being so assertive about protecting the members' rights," he said during an Oct. 10 phone interview. "What you're seeing is the state responding to that."

The Division of State Police sought a summary judgment tossing the complaint, contending that the five officers named in the suit were not entitled to counsel because none had been disciplined as a result of the incident. The state also argued that the officers being questioned were not in legal custody during the interviews.

Justice Teresi, however, ruled that the officers were in custody because "they are not free to leave or consult with counsel."

The Pataki administration is appealing the decision. The officers listed in the complaint are: Kurt Schafsteck, Matthew Taney, Raphael Torres, Aaron Riley, and Kevin Quintero.