BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Despite months of legal maneuvering and efforts to keep this information from being released, we now have access to decades worth of discipline records for New York State Police.
The 7 News I-Team has discovered — in a follow up to our award winning investigation — one trooper in Western New York has had dozens of violations and is still on the job.
Western New York State Trooper Brandan Voss, is at the very top of the list of all state troopers, statewide, named in founded internal violations.
There are 30 of them, since 2018, according to data just released by the NYCLU. Each of these are connected to just three separate incidents.
"It's a very big deal," said Bobby Hodgson.
"It tells you that even with a low number of incidents, each incident can lead to a number of investigations," added Ify Chikezie.
Both Hodgson and Chikezie work for the NYCLU, working on the release of this data.
"I think this reveals serious questions about the adequacy of New York State Police's accountability system," said Hodgson.
Voss is still on the job, still being paid, despite more than two dozen investigations, probation, censure and suspension.
Voss is no stranger to 7 News I-Team reporting.
Back in October, we reported Voss is called "super trooper" by some lawyers, having had three founded complaints in three months, in 2018, that include interactions with the public.
Last August, the 7 News I-Team spoke with then Superintendent Kevin Bruen, about how police officers are disciplined. The NYCLU found only 2% of those who were found to have committed misconduct were terminated.
I-Team Investigator Ed Drantch: What would lead to termination?
Superintendent Bruen: Well, any number of things can lead to termination. There have been, you know, from ... Yeah, I mean, any number of things can lead to termination. I mean, I can think of one case where things where a weapon was misused, not as it relates to the public, just not safely dealt with. And that it was serious enough where that was termination.
Drantch: I just want to make sure that we're clear here, what would rise the level of dismissal?
Bruen: Again, everything is fact specific. It can be relatively minor, if you've done it 40 times. I'm trying to be — you know, a repeated minor act, where you've not taken it seriously can result in termination.
Remember, Voss has had 30 founded violations against him, for three different incidents.
Trooper Sergio Cruz is also at the top of the NYCLU's report. He's had 15 founded violations since 2008, connected to three different incidents.
One of those claims including a crash in 2019, where Cruz was arrested for DWI. Police documents explain, Cruz admittedly drank:
- several beers
- vodka sodas
- and shots of tequila, vodka and whiskey.
All of this was over nine hours. Police say he drove, rear-ending a car on the 190 south. State Police wrote Cruz used "poor judgment" and suspended him for 90 days.
He was put on probation for a year and told he could be fired in that time. But he too is still on the job.
The NYCLU had to fight in court to have this information released, so you can see what is happening behind closed doors on your dollar.
"This is one of the reasons that we've been pushing for transparency and trying to understand a bit more about how New York State Police is policing itself and conducting these investigations-- all of which it does internally," Chikezie said.
New York State Police released a statement in response to this report saying,
“ The New York State Police values transparency. We follow the law in all respects, including in the appropriate release of publicly available agency records. Pursuant to a Freedom of Information Law request, the NYSP produced to NYCLU numerous records relating to personnel and disciplinary matters. NYCLU published its interpretation of the records it received for the NYSP.”
You can see the entire NYCLU report here.
