Batavia disciplines officer for
Randall Road squad car crash
By Linda Girardi
For The Beacon-News May 4, 2012 3:38PM
BATAVIA — A police
officer has been disciplined after crashing his squad car into a truck along
Randall Road.
The officer has
been suspended for 1-1/2 days without pay, according to Deputy Police Chief Dan
Eul.
“It was
investigated as a simple crash investigation,” Eul said. “We took a look at the
cause and actions of drivers prior to the accident to determine if any laws
were violated.”
The officer was
not charged in the crash, which was one of two involving police squad cars in a
two-week period.
The officer was
going south on Randall Road approaching McKee Street at about 9 p.m. March 30,
preparing to conduct a traffic stop. He entered the center turn lane and he did
not see a northbound truck on Randall Road enter the intersection.
The officer, the
driver of the truck and two of his passengers were treated at Delnor Hospital.
The injuries were not serious.
In the second
crash, a squad car collided with another police vehicle at the intersection of
Houston Street and Lincoln Avenue on April 12 while en route to a report of a
fight
An investigation
into that crash has been completed and will be reviewed for a recommendation
next week.
Eul said it is
difficult for the department to have to remove an officer from duty, even for a
short while. Because of budget restrictions, he said, the department has
“shrunk drastically in size” from its peak of 45 sworn officers to 37 and one
officer is on a worker’s compensation injury leave.
“The actual workforce
strength is 36 officers – to take an officer out a day-and-a-half has an impact
on our operation,” he said.
Eul said the
department is authorized this budget year to strengthen the police force to 40
officers, but it could be months before an officer is sworn in and assigned to
duty.
He said the
department is in the process of beginning an eligibility test, which is
followed by a selection process, background checks and police academy if the
individual is not already certified.
“We are talking
about months – it could be late this year before field training program
begins,” he said.