Chief Tedesco under oath: There were problems (DOCUMENT)

(If you are at all interested, I highly recommend reading the deposition – it’s a good read. It can be seen at the end of this post.) 

A 2012 deposition given under oath by Police Chief John Tedesco outlines problems he saw with how Internal Affairs investigations were done before he became chief, and the influence by the Police Benevolent Association on such investigations.

“There was a – this memo was written shortly after Officer Fitzgerald, I believe, was either elected or reelected to his position as PBA president, and part of his campaign literature it stated, he boasted of his relationship with then Chief of Police Nick Kaiser,” Tedesco told attorney Elmer Keach. “And as to other Captains Fernett and Paul, my relationship has been strained for quite some time.”

“What do you mean? So Officer Fitzgerald boasted of what, having a good relationship with the chief?” Keach asked as a follow up question.

“Yes. I guess if one were reading it, it would be that he could get things resolved favorably, so to speak,” Tedesco answered.

According to a memo Tedesco wrote to then Corporation Counsel Dave Mitchell in December 2007, Fernett was head of the Internal Affairs at the time.

I’m not going to re-write the entire three-hour, 98-page deposition, first reported on by the Times Union, but it is a good read and does lend credence to concerns voiced by the minority community that their complaints about the TPD were largely ignored for years. And it shows one reason why the PBA was so dead set against having Tedesco appointed chief and pushed hard to get Anthony Magnetto appointed commissioner – because it knew Tedesco was going to shake up how the Troy Police Department policed their own.

The deposition was taken as part of the civil suit brought by James Foley, who claimed police brutality and who settled with the city for $90,000.  

Tedesco was appointed chief by Mayor Harry Tutunjian in 2010, Magnetto was appointed commissioner to oversee the day-to-day operation of the TPD by Mayor Lou Rosamilia in 2013. A year later, Magnetto went back into retirement and Tedesco now has his old responsibilities back.  

Tedesco outlined some changes he made – such as complaints are filed in duplicate with the person filing it getting a copy so as to have a record the complaint was made – and others he is working on such as taking the position of being head of IA out of the bidding process, which is now required in the PBA contract.

The chief said he did complain about the IA process with both the Harry Tutunjian administration and Kaiser but did stand up for an officer who pepper sprayed a woman handcuffed in the back seat of a cruiser because she was attempting to spit on him.

“I would say that, you know, handcuffs are not a full proof method of having someone subdued,” Tedesco said. “I think the officer’s actions in this according to this document I have before me, I would say that it is an appropriate use of pepper spray.”

The chief said, to his recollection, there have not been any police officers within 10 years of the deposition disciplined for excessive force or for being rude or inconsiderate to the public.

Tedesco also talks about a letter from federal Judge Gary Sharpe to Kaiser indicating one of his juries had concerns about the TPD internal affairs process while deliberating a case where a man allegedly suffered brain damage at the hands of officers.

“’It was their distinct view, however, that there was no real effort by Internal Affairs to investigate those complaints,”’ referring to use of force complaints,” Keach read from the letter.

It’s unclear which case in particular Sharpe had before him but Tedesco said Kaiser did not make any adjustments to how discipline was handled by the TPD.

When he became chief, Tedesco said he let it known that there would be changes and he would not put up with some of the behaviors that he indicated were either ignored or buried like before.

“Was that words or substance you letting your subordinate police officers know there is a new sheriff in town, things are going to be done differently,” Keach asked Tedesco.

“Yes. The sheriff would support them, however, I will support them only so far, you have to be correct in what you are doing … If you have to defend yourself, if one punch does it, that’s all you get.”

Foley was struck by four officers 15 times, according to Keach, and suffered a punctured lung when he was arrested in 2010.

Keach (pictured right) also represents the owners of Kokopellis, Barry and Joe Glick, who have filed a notice of claim with the intent to sue the city over what they claim were inappropriate actions by officers of the TPD on Jan. 25.

 

Tedesco Deposition