By Kari Ingersoll, Utica, N.Y Observer Dispatch
ILION, N.Y. -- As police investigate the Thanksgiving week shootout that left a man dead, key questions have arisen:
On Nov. 24, village police, with the aid of the Herkimer Police Department’s Special Emergency Response Team, tried to execute search and arrest warrants on Brian P. O’Connor, 42, related to charges of fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, Ilion Police Chief Timothy Parisi said. Both were violations of a previous court sentence, Parisi said.
As the warrants were being executed, O’Connor started shooting, and police returned fire, killing O’Connor, police said.
Herkimer Sgt. Scott Scherer was shot in the arm and chest, but was wearing a bulletproof vest that protected his chest. Scherer underwent surgery for an arm wound and is expected to return to the department, Herkimer Police Chief Joseph Malone said.
No additional details of the O’Connor incident are being released, as an investigation by state police continues, Parisi said.
The act of executing a warrant is a basic duty for an officer, Parisi said. Warrants are issued on a regular basis in a variety of different situations -- typically at the subject’s residence, he said.
While it is not standard to request assistance when issuing a warrant, given the nature of O’Connor’s warrant -- criminal possession of a weapon -- the department decided to request the additional manpower from Herkimer, Parisi said.
The Special Emergency Response Team was created in 2000, in the wake of growing school and workplace violence, when police departments nationwide assessed how teams were addressing these situations and sought a better solution, Malone said. Then-chief Carl Lane applied for a grant to form a team and the four-person squad was born, Malone said.
Officers initially underwent four weeks of training and continue to meet once a month for supplementary training on a variety of possible situations with other local teams, including forces in Utica, New Hartford and Oneonta, Malone said.
In general, determining if a situation is dangerous is up to the individual departments, according to Lynton Clark, a professor of criminal justice at Herkimer County Community College. If there is a possibility that a volatile situation could occur or the subject has a history of confrontation, it is important to have an adequate number of officers on hand, he said.
“From call to call, how you react to the situation is different, based on the incident you are facing,” said Clark, who also served more than eight years on the Oneida County sheriff’s highway patrol and 20 years with the forensic investigation unit. “You hope that you never face a situation where you have to use escalated force -- but sometimes it does happen.”
While there are still several factors that may have led to the deadly shootout, Parisi stressed that strict laws and regulations, specifically Article 35 of the state Penal Code, guide officers in all their actions. According to the law, deadly physical force may be executed in particular incidents including self-defense and protection against imminent use of deadly force by the subject.
In addition, officers are continually prepared by participating in annual firearms training, including reviews of specific laws and hands-on shooting, Parisi said.
“Fortunately, this is something local officers in the village don’t deal with on a regular basis,” Parisi said. “But each officer and their personality is different, and each deals with the situation in a different way.”
Professional services are always available for officers faced with the daily stress of their job, he said, but discussion within the department is often most helpful.
While shootouts like this are a rare occurrence -- especially in the Valley -- similar situations have occurred in the Utica area, Utica Police Deputy Chief Richard Stemmer said. In 1982, Sgt. Ed Meyers was wounded while attempting to arrest a robbery suspect. The suspect was shot by police and eventually sent to prison, Stemmer said.
In 1989, Officer Anthony Rico was also shot while attempting to make a robbery arrest. That suspect was shot and killed by police.
“We typically only use enough force to make an arrest, but sometimes you have to respond to the level of violence at hand,” Stemmer said.
In order to be prepared before hitting the streets, new officers train extensively for more than a year, including a six-month police academy and another six months under the guidance of a senior officer, Stemmer said.
“There is an ever-present danger on the streets these days,” he said. “While it is unusual and unfortunate when this occurs, you always have to be prepared.”
Given the nature of a shooting, everyone -- including the officers, the victim’s family and the community -- are affected, Clark said.
“We’re trained as officers to protect and serve,” he said. “No officer ever wants to use force -- especially to this degree.”