Yates County Sheriff Ron Spike Elected to Board of Directors of the National Sheriffs' Association

Yates County Sheriff Ronald Spike was recently elected to become a member of the Board of Directors of the National Sheriffs’ Association.  Sheriff Spike is one of 21 Sheriffs across the country who serve on NSA’s Board of Directors, and as a Director will help develop and implement the goals and programs of the organization.  Sheriff Spike had been appointed as a member of the Board to fill a vacancy, and was then elected to the position at the NSA’s Summer Training Conference held on June 20-24, 2009, in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.  Sheriff Spike also serves as the Chairman of the Board of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association Institute, Inc., and is active in many statewide programs.  He is a member of the Municipal Police Training Council for the State of New York, and served as Chairman of that agency for 10 years.  Sheriff Spike was joined at the NSA conference by Sheriffs John York (Livingston County), Phil Povero (Ontario County), Gary Maha (Genesee County), James Voutour (Niagara County), Ron Cary (Madison County), Dan Middaugh (Oneida County), Vincent DeMarco (Suffolk County) and Kevin Walsh (Onondaga County), Michael Tabolt (Lewis) and James Kralik (Rockland). 

MASS MURDER IN A QUIET NEW YORK COMMUNITY

Reported by Donald Sbarra, Special to NYSSA

 Shocking first reports

When the first reports arrived about multiple shootings and possibly hostages being held at the American Civic Association in Binghamton, Broome County Sheriff David Harder's first impulse was to get there as fast as he could.

While the scene wasn't primarily his jurisdiction, his 45 years of experience told him the Binghamton City Police Department - and a 14-year Binghamton patrolman named Charles Harder - could use all the help they could get.

He was right.

A sad day in Broome County history

The day was April 3, the time approximately 10:33 a.m. What police swarming the scene had yet to learn was that 13 people had been murdered and four others seriously wounded by a distraught and mentally unstable man wielding a pair of semi-automatic handguns while clad in a bullet-proof vest and packing dozens of rounds of ammunition. Forty-one-year-old Jiverly A. Wong would eventually take his own life, but not before making Binghamton the scene of one of the worst mass murders in U.S. history.

Near the center of this photo you can see the back of Broome County Sheriff David Harder. To his right is his son, 14-year Binghamton Patrolman Charles "Chuck" Harder, the commander of the Binghamton PD SWAT unit. They are standing outside the American Civic Association on Front Street in Binghamton.

"I've seen a lot of terrible things, a lot of death, but nothing like that," Sheriff Harder said, looking back on that morning. "Your first thoughts always go out to the families. You're standing there looking at this incredible scene thinking, ‘Oh my God. All those families.' Somebody has to notify those families. I've done a lot of notifications over the years. It's never an easy thing to do."

Compounding the anxiety felt by Sheriff Harder was the fact that his son, Charles "Chuck" Harder, was already on the scene as Assistant Team Leader of the Binghamton Police Department SWAT team. The younger Harder was among the first to enter the building before it was known whether the gunman was holding hostages or lying in wait. The SWAT team's job was to first remove the wounded and then assess the situation for hostage potential. It would be several tense hours before it was certain that Wong was dead and had been acting alone.

"As a dad, you're worrying about what's going on in there," the Sheriff said, recalling his thoughts during those early moments after the SWAT unit entered the building. "I thought about his mother, and how she would be worrying....We didn't know how many shooters were involved, whether they had taken hostages, whether they would come out without a fight. But Chuck is a dedicated officer, loves what he does, works hard at it, never misses a training. I knew he was as ready as any man could be. That they'd sent the right guy in there."  At the conclusion of the operation, SWAT Team Leader Sgt. Daniel Frair had high praise for all his team members.

A madman takes aim

Wong had been a sporadic visitor to the Civic Association, attending classes to improve his English language skills, a source of frustration that he frequently expressed to friends and acquaintances. He had also recently lost his job when a local Shop Vac plant closed in November.

Sheriff's Command Vehicle at the site of the shootings.

On April 3 he paid one last visit to the association, this time using a borrowed 1993 Toyota to barricade the rear entrance and then entering the front with guns drawn. Survivors say there was no conversation. Wong just opened fire. His first shots were aimed at receptionist Shirley DeLucia, who, though wounded in the abdomen, had the presence of mind to feign death and from beneath her desk call police and provide critical information from inside the building.

Besides DeLucia and one other woman killed near the lobby, all of Wong's victims were in a single classroom where English was being taught. Wong fired a combined 98 shots from his legally registered 9 mm Beretta and .45-caliber Springfield...all within the span of a single minute. The last he fired at himself. Many of the victims were recent immigrants attending classes in English and citizenship. Escaping Wong's rage were 33 others who managed to either hide in an adjoining room or barricade themselves in the basement.

An all-out effort

Meanwhile, outside the civic association building police from all around Broome County (and the state) were amassing to secure and contain the scene and to isolate and control an ever-growing crowd of nervous bystanders. It would be three harrowing hours before they could confirm the tragic events that had transpired inside.

Almost simultaneous with city police, Sheriff Harder and his deputies arrived on the scene and began assignments critical to protecting the lives of those who remained inside the structure as well as hundreds in the surrounding community unaware of the potential danger. A nearby school had to be locked down. Streets all around the center had to be barricaded to allow adequate movement by police officers, emergency medical personnel, city leaders and many others. Traffic had to be rerouted. Curiosity seekers had to be kept at bay.

In short order, Sheriff's deputies, more than 50 officers in all, had been dispatched across the city. Detectives were assisting with interviews of witnesses and neighbors. Deputies were sent to area hospitals to help as administrators there made plans for the worst scenario. Others were assigned to handle the everyday calls that the Binghamton PD would normally cover. It was an all-out effort to back-up and support whatever need might arise.

"My first priority was to do whatever the (Binghamton Police) Chief needed, help in any way we could. He had an awesome responsibility and we were there to help him," Harder said.

As Binghamton Police Chief Joseph Zikuski would note during a press conference later that day, Broome County Sheriff Deputies didn't wait to be asked to back up their brothers at the city PD, they just responded... in force.

Looking to the future

The aftermath was at first a continuing stream of sadness and disbelief for residents of this mostly rural community. Up until that day, Binghamton had just one murder since the beginning of 2008, a fact that offered little comfort after April 3. A community was stunned.

With each day there came news of another victims' funeral, another memorial, another story about a family's struggle to makes sense of the senseless. The outpouring of support was swift and widespread, both for the families of the victims and for the Civic Association itself, which administrator vow to soon reopen. But with each day's passing there are also signs of a return to normalcy. People begin to move on. It will be a long time before they forget.

BROOME COUNTY SHERIFF SAVES WOMAN, THREE CHILDREN AND "SCRAPPY" AFTER SERIOUS CAR ACCIDENT

Broome County Sheriff Dave Harder was on his way to work last week, and saw ahead of him a vehicle drive off a main highway and travel down a steep ditch.  He immediately called for help, and being the only person on the scene, went down to the vehicle.  He found a woman and her three children still in the car, all injured.  He crawled into the car and was able to get the children out, but also saw small fires ignite and knew he needed help.  He was able to get help from a passing motorist, who used the Sheriff's fire extinguisher to keep putting out the fire while the Sheriff and, eventually, other emergency responders were able to get all the injured parties out of the vehicle.  Even the woman's dog, "Scrappy" was saved by the Sheriff's quick actions.   The driver was held in her seat by her seatbelt and Sheriff Harder was covered in blood as he worked inside the vehicle to free her.  She could not be extricated until the car door was removed, and the Sheriff stayed with the woman until all were safe and on their way to the hospital for treatment.

All in a day's work for the Sheriff, who went home to change into clean clothing, and then traveled to Albany for a scheduled meeting on how his office could best provide law enforcement services to all residents of Broome County.

You can read more about the story in the Press and Sun Bulletin at this link: http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/200904150240/NEWS01/904150401

SHERIFF GARY MAHA RECEIVES ACCREDITATION AWARDS

At a recent meeting of the Genesee County Legislature,  Sheriff Gary Maha accepted plaques signifying re-accreditation of the Genesee County 911 Center and accreditation of the Sheriff’s Civil Division.  Receiving special recognition from Executive Director Kehoe for their roles in managing the two accreditation processes were Civil Bureau Supervisor Sergeant Jonathan Szumigala, Director of Emergency Communications Steven Sharpe and Accreditation Program Manager Deputy Deborah L. Snyder.  The two programs require compliance with hundreds of accreditation standards, adopted by the New York State Sheriffs' Association.  Assessors, from around the State, who are experts in their fields are assigned to review and determine whether a county meets the accreditation standards.  The Genesee County Sheriff's Office also has achieved accreditation for its law enforcement division from the State of New York.

SHERIFF REFUSES TO GIVE UP 29 YEAR SEARCH FOR IDENTITY OF MURDERED CHILD

Livingston County Sheriff John York and his agency continue their quest to identify a young murder victim from 1979 and are getting a helping hand from the cyber-world.

In the brisk, early morning hours of November 10th, 1979, before most people even knew what a computer was, a local farmer and his son were checking their fields off Rt. 20 in the rural Town of Caledonia, NY, when they discovered the lifeless body of the unidentified young girl.  She had been shot and left to die just off the highway in a cold, desolate cornfield.  Livingston County Sheriff John York was the lead investigator on the case, a case that was the talk of the town for several weeks.

Thousands upon thousands of leads have been developed over the past twenty-nine years, but none has lead investigators to learn her identity, nor that of her killer(s).

Sheriff York and his agency have not given up the hope of someday identifying the young girl, whom medical examiners believe to have been between 14 and 19 years old.   She had dark hair with blonde highlights and brown eyes.  She was clad in a red windbreaker jacket, tan corduroy pants and a red plaid shirt.   She was slight of build, approximately 5’3”, 120 Lbs.  Botanical analysis of her clothing and her sun-tanned skin lead investigators to believe she may be from the south-west region of the Country.

The internet proved to be a tremendous asset in the investigation, helping law enforcement disseminate information completely and swiftly.  Private individuals and “Missing Person” organizations across the United States have taken a particular interest in trying to help identify the young “Jane Doe”.  One group has even utilized YouTube as a vehicle through which to get information out to the public.

Sheriff York continues to ask the public to share any information regarding this investigation by contacting the Livingston County Sheriff’s Office at:

4 Court Street, Geneseo, NY 14454
(585) 243-7100,
LCSO@co.livingston.ny.us

You can also view the Sheriff’s press release on his website at this link:
http://www.co.livingston.state.ny.us/Sheriff/pdfs/JaneDoe.pdf