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 ALBANY---While the head of the state trooper's union says that the five-month manhunt for fugitive Ralph "Bucky" Phillips was grossly mismanaged, State Police Supt. Wayne Bennett refuted the claims and said that while there was an internal investigation already underway, he would welcome an independent investigation.
Following the release of a letter to top elected officials in the state Tuesday by the PBA asking for an independent investigation of the biggest manhunt in the state's history, Chautauqua County Assemblyman William Parament said that he had received a significant number of complaints about how the manhunt was handled and he felt an independent investigation was warranted.
 Tpr. Joseph Longobardo, 32, of Saratoga County was fatally wounded in an ambush on Aug. 31 during the manhunt in western New York and Tpr. Donald Baker, 38, also of Saratoga County, was critically wounded. On June 10, Tpr. Sean Brown had been wounded following a traffic stop of Phillips who had escaped from the Erie County Jail in April. Phillips is suspected of having shot all three troopers. He was captured on Sept. 8 in Pennsylvania, just over the Pennsylvania-New York border.
Baker had been in a medically induced coma for the three weeks since being shot in the back but is now awake having opened his eyes Thursday after doctors took him off sedation. Baker hasn't spoken yet but is said to be following his parents and wife with his eyes as they move about in his room.
In his letter, PBA president Daniel DeFedericis said that the union felt that the shootings never should have happened and that Phillips would have been apprehended much earlier but for the "inexcusable and unconscionable ineptitude of State Police management".
PDF File Letter
He said that the PBA "has received significant amounts of information from those who were directly involved in this investigation and search that indicates that this detail was poorly planned, poorly organized, poorly led, and poorly executed. In fact, we believe that these errors are so outrageous and scandalous that they must be addressed in an independent investigation to ensure the safety of both State Troopers and the public in the future".
State Police Supt. Wayne Bennett said that the internal investigation already underway would address the questions raised by the PBA and rejected all allegations of mismanagement.
Gov. George Pataki has issued a statement saying that his office looks forward to the completion of that State Police review and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said he would discuss with his members how to proceed. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has not yet commented publicly on the situation.
Phillips has been charged with the attempted murder of Brown, escape and numerous other charges. Additional charges are expected to be lodged against him for the shooting of Longobardo and Baker.
Some of the errors alleged by the PBA are:
--Failure to accept help from outside federal, county and local law enforcement, who offered personnel, expertise and specialized equipment
--Failure to quickly bring in additional command and investigative personnel form the State Police itself
--Failure of top State Police commanders in Albany to take charge and command of this operation
--Failure to provide State Police personnel with the appropriate tactical equipment needed, including protective body armor, and adequate firepower
--Failure to provide State Police personnel with appropriate communications equipment, maps, locating devices and briefing on intelligence received
--Failure to provide back-up requested by a trooper who spotted Phillips run into a house, from which Phillips then escaped through the back door.
"The PBA has absolutely no confidence in the State Police's ability to investigate itself and there is significant precedent for an outside investigation, including the appointment of special prosecutor Nelson Roth in 1992 to investigate allegations of evidence tampering within the State Police as well as the recent use of the New York State Police Internal Affairs Bureau to examine the Connecticut State Police Internal Affairs Bureau. The PBA believes any internal investigation would be biased and focused only upon the management of this operation at the regional Troop level. While there exists substantial evidence of combative and essentially non-existent leadership at this level, and that the Troop A Commander antagonized and alienated both State Police subordinates as well as outside agencies, the PBA has reason to believe that the failure of the State Police as an agency to protect both its own members and the public goes much higher and that there must be accountability at the highest levels in the State Police", DeFedericis said.
Bennett has said that there's "no credibility" to some of the allegations including that the State Police turned away FBI assistance. He said that Longobardo and Baker had a variety of body armor to choose for their stakeout of the house of Phillips" ex-girlfriend where the ambush occurred.
DeFedericis said Thursday that the PBA continues to assert that an independent investigation is "the only way the truth will be made public".
"While the State Police may be conducting an internal review, an outside entity would be the logical choice for an unbiased look at the matter", he said. DeFedericis says the PBA complaints are not with the rank and file members but with the State Police leadership. He said the PBA stands by its original statement that the State Polie as an agency was concerned with protecting its turf so to speak. 9-21-06
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© 2006 North
Country Gazette
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